Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 07:36:04 -0700
Reply-To: Mark Mages <wasserbox@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mark Mages <wasserbox@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Sue the fire department was: Fire ruins my day...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Also, isn't there some legal clause that if you DO
call the FD, they use whatever measures they think
necessary to put out the fire? This protects them from
ungrateful people suing them when the fear & fire die
down. Just smile, thanks your stars no one was hurt,
and take your insurance check to the bank. There will
always be more vanagons, and if you play your cards
right your next one might be better than the Bar-b-Q
pit!
--- Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM> wrote:
> That's right...
>
> Sue the Fire department, even though they put their
> lives in danger to
> extinguish the flames.
>
> And sue the local Taco Bell Franchisee for not
> rapidly providing a fire
> extinguisher.
>
> And sue Taco Bell for not having a fire extinguisher
> mounted outside their
> restarurants to quickly extinguish burning Vanagons.
>
> And sue the Amoco station that knowingly sold you a
> flammable product.
>
> And VW for selling a van that *could* burst into
> flames.
>
> And don't neglect to sue Walter Kidde fire
> extinguisher for not insisting
> that their fire extinguishers be included with every
> vehicle,
>
> And you will want to sue the doctor that delivered
> you, for not realizing
> that this might happen and forewarning your parents
> before your birth,
>
> And of course the freighter company who brought your
> ancestors to the US
> for not anticipating that this tragic fire could
> have happened.
>
> And while you are at it, sue everyone on this list,
> including Eric, for not
> preventing you from driving a Vanagon that *could*
> catch on fire.
>
> Sue everyone who has ever tried to help you in
> regard to this van, or in
> regard to your life.
>
> Get real, Eric. A tragedy happened. Could it have
> been avoided? Perhaps.
> Should anyone be sued? What do you think?
>
> G. Matthew Bulley
> Bulley-Hewlett & Associates
> www.bulley-hewlett.com
> Cary, NC USA
> 888.468.4880 tollfree
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: EMZ [SMTP:vw4x4@FYI.NET]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 12:15 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Fire ruins my day...
>
> I would start by getting a good lawyer and
> sueing
> the nozzle nuts. They cause more damage than the
> fire
> sometimes. It's a wonder they didn't try to cut the
> roof
> off the Van and look for bodies. Or maybe the Jaws
> of life
> on a door post, to get in to a perfectly fine
> unlocked door
> to get to the fire.
> Chances are the engine is not dammaged. It's all
> the
> wiring, hoses, int., and plastic that is a problem.
> Sounds
> like my parts Syncro and your Van would now be a
> good
> match up.
>
> Eric 86-VW4x4
> vw4x4@fyi.net 72-240z
> Pittsburgh, PA USA 1936-Chrysler
>
>
> On Tue, 20 Apr 1999, tonyd wrote:
>
> > Well fellow dubbers,
> >
> > My vanagon is no more. Saturday evening it
> > caught on fire. Not quite sure what caused it. I
> > was driving, and had gotten about a half mile
> > from my house, when I experienced some serious
> > hesitation in 4th gear. I put it up into 3rd,
> > and it picked back up, but as I approached the
> > stoplight, and put in the clutch, it died
> > completely. So, with the momentum I had left, I
> > coasted into Taco Bell's parking lot, and out of
> > the way of traffic. As soon as I stopped, smoke
> > engulfed the bus. I ran around back to discover
> > flames coming out of the license plate cover,
> > and drops of fire dripping onto the ground
> > underneath. I popped the hatch, and scrambled
> > to get all of my stuff out of the van. Running
> > into Taco Bell screaming like a maniac for the
> > fire extinguisher, I waited while the MINIMUM
> > WAGE IDIOT, WALKS!!! to get the extinguisher. As
> > I was trying to contain the blaze, the van tried
> > to start itself, and was lurching itself towards
> > the parked cars. People began flying out of the
> > place to move their cars. Luckily the fire dept.
> > showed up and pulled the ground off. I didn't
> > dare lift the deck lid before that, in fear of
> > the whole thing going up in my face. Anyway,
> > after 20 minutes of soaking the engine and the
> > interior of my van, I assessed the damages; The
> > engine is fried. All the wiring is fried. The
> > poor computer is nothing but left over micro
> > chips. The right rear plastic molding melted
> > into oblivion, not to mention anything else that
> > was plastic in that area (tail light cover, rear
> > park light cover, vent, etc.) The outside right
> > rear of the van is charred. The interior
> > sustained heavy water damage: There was water
> > half filling the gauges, glove box and door step
> > up areas. The upholstery is soaked and wreaks of
> > barbeque. Really though, the damage didn't pass
> > the engine compartment, and the rest of the van
> > (outside of the water damage) is untouched. In
> > fact, from one side, you wouldn't know. So, I
> > wait for the insurance to show up and reimburse
> > me. Here are some questions for the list; What
> > would it cost me to replace the engine, the
> > wiring (all wiring in the engine compartment,
> > and make sure everything works front to back)
> > and paint the rear (or whole) of the bus? What
> > about water damage (smell, etc.) I would just
> > like to know in case I want (or they let me) to
> > keep the bus after I get the money. Also, any
> > thoughts on what may have caused this to happen.
> > I'm thinking fuel line problem.
> >
> > This has been an unfortunate loss for us. The
> > bus ran perfectly (I thought) and everything
> > worked. It had served us well on many a trouble
> > free trip. We will be sad to let it go if we
> > have to. Please check your fuel lines and hoses
> > regularly. I'm lucky it was me driving and not
> > the wife and kids.
> >
> > Thank you all for your input over the past year.
> > I will remain on the list however, because I
> > believe in it and will soon replace this bus
> > with another. After 8 VW's this is my first
> > fire, and it hasn't soured me a bit.
> >
> > TonyD
> > '87 GL (barbeque style)
> >
>
===
Mark
87 Westfalia Gl
84 Scirocco 8v
http://members.tripod.com/~jehanno
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