garage fires

[flyinlow]

Winter,  doors shut ,furnace running, solvent fumes, welding.  Just thought i would ask the Firefighters out there, what causes most garage fires?

[69rtse4spd]

Flames!, .

[A383Wing]

and stoopid people who don't use what God gave 'em!

[Alaskan_TA]

Being jobless & behind on house payments seems to cause them too.  

[Magnumcharger]

Being jobless & behind on house payments seems to cause them too.  

[bakerhillpins]

Being jobless & behind on house payments seems to cause them too.  

It's funny but true. One of the guys in our Dept. is also an insurance agent and we have had this discussion several times. Suspicious home fires/car accidents are more frequent in bad economies. It's perceived as a way out and some folks take the chance. 

[twodko]

I'm thinking oily rags stored improperly and flammable material left too close to an ignition source for starters.

[resq302]

Garage fires can be started by a variety of things.  Spontaneous combustion from oil soaked rags and chemicals causing a chain reaction to electric heaters left on and shorting out or putting combustible materials too close to them.  There have also been electrical fires started from lighting fixtures and improperly wired or overloaded circuts inside garages.  Probably one of the scariest environments I have ever been in since you have no clue of what the home owner is storing inside his garage.  Could be anything from batteries to propane cylinders or even small gas tanks for his lawn mower or snow blowers.  Forget the starting fluid containers or carb cleaners on the shelf for his cars.  Oh and the paint thinners and and laquer thinners or mineral spirits used to clean various types of paints and varnishes that the homeowner might do.  Probably one of the worst fires I was ever in was a garage that had a wood shop set up in it.  Wood dust is one of the worst things you can have in a fire.  It goes up so hot and fast you really dont have time to react.

[flyinlow]

Garage fires can be started by a variety of things.  Spontaneous combustion from oil soaked rags and chemicals causing a chain reaction to electric heaters left on and shorting out or putting combustible materials too close to them.  There have also been electrical fires started from lighting fixtures and improperly wired or overloaded circuts inside garages.  Probably one of the scariest environments I have ever been in since you have no clue of what the home owner is storing inside his garage.  Could be anything from batteries to propane cylinders or even small gas tanks for his lawn mower or snow blowers.  Forget the starting fluid containers or carb cleaners on the shelf for his cars.  Oh and the paint thinners and and laquer thinners or mineral spirits used to clean various types of paints and varnishes that the homeowner might do.  Probably one of the worst fires I was ever in was a garage that had a wood shop set up in it.  Wood dust is one of the worst things you can have in a fire.  It goes up so hot and fast you really dont have time to react.

I am carefull with rag disposal , keep the gas in safety cans in a small burn box 50' away from the house and garage. I have smoke alarms and firextinguishers. You try to think of the possibility's. 
A garage down the road burned because of a malfunctioning opener.

[adauto]

Being jobless & behind on house payments seems to cause them too.  

Shorts in the checkbook not the wiring!   

[Old Moparz]

I bet carelessness is the biggest culprit. There is a guy on the Garage Journal site that posted photos of a fire in his garage that started by spilling racing fuel that ignited from a halogen light. He was running a small business in his residential garage so his insurance didn't cover it. The damage was pretty major, including customer cars & losing all his tools.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18870&highlight=heat

I don't have any heating system in my shop yet, but when I install something, it will not have any type of open flame. My biggest fear is gasoline vapors from a dripping tank on a car, a spill, the lawnmower, or just a gas can igniting from an open flame on a heater. This year I plan to build a new shed & move some things into it, including gasoline I store for small equipment.

Here's the pics he posted over on the garage site....

[greenpigs]

So Old Moparz is the image from a King Krimsom album?

[resq302]

Damn Bob, thats devastating.  Hopefully no one was hurt.  Im still paranoid about having my charger in the garage that is attached to our house and having the oil fed furnace in the next room maybe 20 feet away.  However, it is better than leaving the charger out in the cold weather until I can convince my wife to let me build a two car detached garage over by my other two sheds.  Im not holding my breath though on the new garage.

[Old Moparz]

So Old Moparz is the image from a King Krimsom album?

Sure is, the first one, "In the Court of the Crimson King".   

Damn Bob, thats devastating.  Hopefully no one was hurt.  Im still paranoid about having my charger in the garage that is attached to our house and having the oil fed furnace in the next room maybe 20 feet away.  However, it is better than leaving the charger out in the cold weather until I can convince my wife to let me build a two car detached garage over by my other two sheds.  Im not holding my breath though on the new garage.

He said he burned his hand trying to put it out, 3rd degree burns if I recall. 

I have insurance, so at least if anything did go wrong I'd be okay. Funny thing though, after building the garage I never contacted the insurance company to let them know I now had a garage. I had a guaranteed replacement policy for years, but they don't offer that same plan now. When I called with some questions about something else in the policy, I had asked about updating a few other things. The agent asked a few questions & the garage came up. I "assumed" it would have been covered, but was told they had no idea it was there.

It's damn sure covered now! 

[Aero426]

I also make sure I do not have power tool battery chargers plugged in unattended.   There was a local fire started in this manner.   When I am away from the storage garage, I try to have as little plugged in as possible.

[skip68]

Clogged dryer vents are a huge culpret too! Our washer and dryer are in the garage with the General and I hate it!  I'm hoping to reroute the water hookups and electrical to the opposite side of the wall. This would place them on the porch, and then make a room enclosure. (kinda like an Arizona room.) Time and money,......thats all its gonna take! Mrs.skip68

[gtx6970]

and stoopid people who don't use what God gave 'em!

aint that the thruth,
mixing sparks and fumes in the same area is high up there. I know of 2 shops in the past 5 years lost to fires caused by not using your head.

[resq302]

There was a Firestone Tire center that burned pretty good cause of a mechanic using a drop light with an incandescent bulb working on a fuel tank or fuel line repair.  The guy got burned pretty bad and the shop was closed for a couple of weeks.  Funny thing was it was right down the road from where I used to work at ETD tire center.  I called up my old boss and asked him if he was trying to put the competition out of business.

[flyinlow]

I also make sure I do not have power tool battery chargers plugged in unattended.   There was a local fire started in this manner.   When I am away from the storage garage, I try to have as little plugged in as possible.

Did not think of that.


I try to not weld or grind unless I am going to be in the garage for an hour or so after I am done.

No using the acetylene torch without a second person.

[NHCharger]

I have the quick battery disconnects on both my Chargers. Never know with that old wiring.

[chargergirl]

Lots of folks don't think about the battery chargers...they are still pulling power even when the item is not in the cradle and the connectors are hot...still kicken. One lady burned her vehicle to the ground when she unhooked her phone and left the charger plugged in. I'm married to Navy man who survived an onboard fire/explosion...he's VERY attentive to anything that might make our garage go boom.