2009 xtz fire!!!!

Fire Investigator · #1 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 07:23 AM

2009 XTZ OWNERS,

I am investigating a 2009 XTZ 1000 fire loss. The fire originated at the rear of the vehicle in the area of the parking brake. The owner stated that when engaging the brake lever, the brake light will not illuminate until the brake lever has been pulled up 3 notches. The owners daughter was driving and may not have known that the brake was engaged. Any XTZ owners have similar issues with the parking brake?? How many notches "clicks" do you need to pull the brake lever until the indicator light comes on?? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Fire Investigator

cnj · #2 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 06:23 PM

I have NEVER seen a legitimate investigator enter a public forum asking for guidance. So I am calling you out. Are you a legitimate investigator (prove your credentials), or are you an ambulance chaser???

Darryl89 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 09:10 PM

He has posted on another forum also, so he may be legitimately trying to find a history on XTZ's, but my past career experience and training as a fire/arson investigator tells me to look at several other things than what he's looking for...

Fire Investigator · #4 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 06:20 AM

Hey guys, I'm just looking for a little information on XTZ's. I am not an XTZ owner and have not investigated one before. I have tried to locate a local dealer, and all XTZ's have been sold. If anyone is from northern Indiana and owns one, please let me know.

cnj: To conduct a proper investigation one must gather information. Who better to gather information from than the people that own these machines. I don't feel that it is necessary to post my entire curriculum vitae on this forum. I will tell you that I work for a private forensic lab in Indiana. Also, why would an ambulance chaser want to know about a parking brake??

Darryl89: I assure you, I am considering ALL POTENTIAL ignition sources. The parking brake is one of those potentials.

**Johnny** · #5 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 06:33 AM

Mine is three clicks befor the light comes on but I dont think the brake drag is enough to cause a problem at three clicks I can still slide a feeler gauge in the pads ... I personaly dont think a warning sticker should have to be placed on the prowler that says please lower the parking brake handle all the way befor driving // maybe proper instruction on operating use befor letting people drive ........ but we have to blame somebody right ... and Arctic Cat has deep pockets ....... seems like my insurance company would have already bought me a new prowler and this would be over ...

the pictures I saw online of a prowler on fire with the rear brake rotor cut in half would have to be from a parking brake that was on more then three clicks ... alot more then three clicks ... just my 2 cents

cnj · #6 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 12:03 PM

Fire Investigator,
I appreciate you coming back and responding. Don't get me wrong, if you are legit, carry on. My hat is off to you. But, I have seen a number of times where, shortly after an incident like this, a "new member" shows up on a public message board and starts asking all kinds of questions in order to "establish" a possible condition which could be construed as being "unsafe". The next thing you know, every two-bit lawyer is trying to get their hands in a manufacturer's deep pockets. Look at the history of law suits filed (many times by negligent owners/operators) against Yamaha for mishaps that occured while someone was operating a Rhino.
To answer your question "why would an ambulance chaser want to know about a parking brake??", well, simply to try to establish the condition I mentioned above.
Again, if you are legit, more power to you, but you might get a bit more cooperation if you showed you are really not a lawyer with bad intentions.
My 2 cents.

Fire Investigator · #7 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 01:03 PM

I too appreciate the responses! Since there is concern of my legitimacy, I will tell you a little about myself. My name is Joe, and I work for Barker & Herbert Analytical Laboratories in New Haven, IN. I am an IAAI Certified Fire Investigator, NAFI Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator, and NAFI Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator. I have been a member of several fire departments and have been investigating for 5 years. I was hired by an insurance company to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

I am definitely not saying operator error is not an issue in this case.

Jonny's post is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. Since I can't get my hands on an exemplar machine, I figured I would try the next best thing and talk to the owners. Thanks for all your help.

badseed · #8 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 07:49 AM

I know of an xtz that caught on fire from a parking brake that was engaged but the light wasnt on. I saw it yesterday. You can see plain as day what the fire was from.

Darryl89 · #9 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badseed

I know of an xtz that caught on fire from a parking brake that was engaged but the light wasnt on. I saw it yesterday. You can see plain as day what the fire was from.

Give us details, where, was it investigated...etc..

badseed · #10 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 12:37 PM

I dont think it was investigated. or at least they already knew what caused the fire. It was being used in a parade by some cops. after the parade they took it down a side road to see how fast it went. well the parking brake was still engaged like 1 or two clicks but the light was off. i would immagine that the caliper seals melted and started to leak brake fluid which caught on fire and the cops were stopped by a by stander who told them they were on fire. they flipped up the bed and put the fire out. Thats all i know! I swear man thats it. I have seen similar occurances of this but on actual vehicles where a brake caliper siezed and the customer just kept driving untill everything got so hot the caliper started leaking. They get so hot the ball joint boots melt, the wheel bearing grease gets so thin it leaks past the dust cap and burns. I thought that the fire investigator dude might want to know where to get picks of the damage thats why i posted about it, i wasnt trying to bet interogated. haha jk darryl. I called and got more info about it. ill talk to the guy to see if i can get pics of the parking brake caliper homicide if the csi agents will let me. ill get the pics if i can.