If you’ve read or are currently reading Murder at Last Chance Cove, the first mystery in my Pacific Northwest Cozy Mystery series, this photo may trigger a memory of one of the book’s more dramatic scenes. Smoke roiling upward. Flames shooting from the roof. Windows popping. A firefighter with an ax gaining entry to an RV to see if anyone was inside. I won’t spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t read it or is still reading it.

It’s fast. It’s all over within minutes. It’s complete devastation.

What I will do is tell you that the scene came straight out of real life. While staying at an RV park very much like the one Saffi Graywood pulls into in book one of the series, I witnessed what happens when an RV burns.

RV-ing is great fun. I love drives along the Pacific Northwestern coast or across the entire U.S. (Yes… I have crisscrossed the country multiple times.) I love finding great parks with phenomenal views. I truly appreciate the chances I’ve had to stay in some parks for weeks or months at a time.

That said, I learned a few really important things while watching a conflagration that took place in an RV park several summers ago.

• Make sure your fire extinguisher is in good working order and know how to use it.
• Check your rig for fire dangers often.
• Pay attention to equipment recalls. It could save your rig, or even your life.
• Stay out of the way of firefighters. They know what they’re doing.
• If at all possible, do not leave pets alone in your RV. (Don’t worry! No pets will perish in my cozy mysteries, although at least one will get a good soaking.)

This salute goes out to the brave firefighters of Crescent City, California, who put their lives on the line to make sure no campers were inside the burning RV pictured. That red and yellow helmet? Yep. That’s a firefighter. I will never forget the bravery of the two firefighters who went inside while the fire was still active to search for anyone in harm’s way.