In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist on the
walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood framed
garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you seen?

Steve.

Flamable vapors, both heavier than air that lie on the floor as well as
mists from areosols are high on my list. Even wiping off a part with
laquer thinner leads to a solvent soaked rag that I try to get outside
or into the fire.

Second biggy on my list is welding sparks that hide in the dust bunnies
under the bench, light up hours later.

SteveF wrote:
In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist on the
walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood framed
garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you seen?

Steve.

Grinding sparks getting through cracks in the plywood wall and starting a
fire behind. The firemen had a fun time chasing the fire inside the wall.
Grinding sparks and Oxy-acetylene cutting sparks travel great distances.
Welding is relatively safe.
Randy

"SteveF" wrote in message
...
In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist on the
walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood framed
garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you seen?

Steve.

"SteveF" wrote in message
...
In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist on
the walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood framed
garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you seen?

Sparks from a pedestal grinder igniting the used paper towels in a nearby
garbage can.

Mike

In article ,
"Mike Henry" wrote:

"SteveF" wrote in message
...
In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist on
the walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood framed
garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you seen?

Sparks from a pedestal grinder igniting the used paper towels in a nearby
garbage can.

Grinder sparks and any sort of spark-friendly location - ie, if you also
do woodworking and have sawdust around, rags, lint, mouse-nest, etc.
Have seen a construction site (not mine) turn into a destruction and
much more major construction site in 30 minutes when some brilliant
idiot cut some rebar with an angle-grinder before lunch, and nobody
stuck around during lunch on sparkwatch.

Keeping the place clean and tidy will reduce fire danger by reducing
nice places for fire to start.

If you're in a wood-framed garage with open studs, give consideration to
putting 3 feet of cement-board on the bottom (takes knocks better than
drywall) and type X drywall on the rest. Cuts the fire danger
considerably. Insulate while you're at it.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

SteveF wrote:
In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist on the
walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood framed
garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you seen?

Someone flipping a butt into a trashcan full
of acetone-saturated rags will focus your attention...

Don't ask.

Jim Stewart wrote:
SteveF wrote:

In the thread on the shop carpet the issue of fire from coolant mist
on the walls got me wondering. Being one of the hobby guys in a wood
framed garage, what other not obvious sources of fire have some of you
seen?


Someone flipping a butt into a trashcan full
of acetone-saturated rags will focus your attention...

Don't ask.



While on that subject, can some olde-timer tell me something about oily
rags and spontaneous combustion?

In article et,
Richard Lamb wrote:

While on that subject, can some olde-timer tell me something about oily
rags and spontaneous combustion?

Mostly an issue for linseed oil soaked rags (generally a woodworking or
painting related item), as linseed oil is a "drying" oil (it oxidizes
and gets hard). That reaction gives off heat. Put that reaction in a
nice, well-insulated location like a pile of rags, and you get fires
that start by themselves, especially since the reaction is faster when
it's hotter, so it puts out more heat, which makes it faster...

Option 1 is to avoid it (and walnut oil, and tung oil) completely.

Option 2 is not to use rags.

Option 3 is to use rags, put them in a ziploc, and put that in the
freezer.

Option 4 is to use rags, and toss them in a woodstove on on an open
fire when done.

Option 5 is to use rags, and dry them out flat - on the floor in a
single layer, on a clothesline, etc - some way that heat cannot build up.

Option 6 is to use rags and place them in a bucket of water

etc...

You can still get double-wall oily rag safety cans (which are supposed
to be emptied every night) that have a tight lid sealing the rag area
(to limit oxygen supply) and the double walls help to keep anything else
from catching if the rags start burning.

As far as I know, a motor or machine oil soaked rag is a great thing for
some other ignition source to start a fire with, but is not likely to
start up on its own.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

"Ecnerwal" wrote in message
...
In article et,
Richard Lamb wrote:

While on that subject, can some olde-timer tell me something about
oily
rags and spontaneous combustion?

Mostly an issue for linseed oil soaked rags (generally a woodworking
or
painting related item), as linseed oil is a "drying" oil (it
oxidizes
and gets hard). That reaction gives off heat. Put that reaction in a
nice, well-insulated location like a pile of rags, and you get fires
that start by themselves, especially since the reaction is faster
when
it's hotter, so it puts out more heat, which makes it faster...

Option 1 is to avoid it (and walnut oil, and tung oil) completely.

Option 2 is not to use rags.

Option 3 is to use rags, put them in a ziploc, and put that in the
freezer.

Option 4 is to use rags, and toss them in a woodstove on on an open
fire when done.

Option 5 is to use rags, and dry them out flat - on the floor in a
single layer, on a clothesline, etc - some way that heat cannot
build up.

Option 6 is to use rags and place them in a bucket of water

etc...

You can still get double-wall oily rag safety cans (which are
supposed
to be emptied every night) that have a tight lid sealing the rag
area
(to limit oxygen supply) and the double walls help to keep anything
else
from catching if the rags start burning.

As far as I know, a motor or machine oil soaked rag is a great thing
for
some other ignition source to start a fire with, but is not likely
to
start up on its own.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by


Supposedly spontaneous combustion is the no 1 cause of fires in
Launderettes (Laundromats state side) here in the UK. Typically
lacquers from hairdressers or oils from industrial clothing remain
after a wash / dry cycle and if the washing is put into bags whilst
still warm will degrade, give off heat amd eventually spontaneously
burst into flames.

In my total wipe out fire back in April the Chief Fire Officer was
blaming spontaneous combustion as he walked in the door, ignoring the
fact that the seat of the fire was imediately below the incoming 3
phase supply head. OK some washing was in the area, but it was amazing
how quickly the electricity company (EDF - Electricity de France)
removed the burnt offerings of their equipment, and it was never seen
again !

AWEM
(now back up and running having had a 5 month living through hell
scenario)

I was using a steel-cutting carbide blade in a Skil worm drive and the
chips were orange/red hot and flying pretty far. I expected that they
would have cooled enough by the time that they landed, but not so and a
rag in the corner was set on fire. Of course I didn't realize it had
happened until I smelled the smoke. Bob