Years ago Van’s tested several factory built RV’s for smoke penetration of the firewall.  I remember they were amazed how much smoke they got thru what they thought were pretty tight electrical, cable and misc. fittings in a ground simulation.  They tightened up the obvious holes and used High Temp Silicone and still had an unacceptable volume of smoke coming in. 

 

Fire or even an oil leak might have smoke that could prevent breathing long enough or obscure vision or be enough of a distraction (pick one or more) to set up a fatal scenario.  This could have been a factor in the Watsonville crash.

 

Steve Colwell  Legacy