Close call, almost had a fire.

[cdestuck]

Sort of had a close call in the shop today and thought I'd pass it for others to just keep a heads.

Was cutting a piece of metal from a mower deck with a thin cutting blade on my angle grinder. Of course it was throwing a nice stream of sparks around.

So I finished and luckily kept working in the shop. So I smelled the usual odor one smells after cutting metal and thought nothing of it. Now then shortly after, I look towards the front of the shop, out the windows and notice smoke rising from the other side of the workbench. I go to the other side and see a box of rays and the smoke was coming from a old towel. Smoking pretty good and prob not too far from actually igniting. So grab the tire and had a spray bottle of Awesome Orange there and used it to soak down the rag.

The shocker is that these rags were a good 6 -7 feet away and on the floor at the other side of the workbench. I still cant imagine how sparks got over there but somehow some did make it over.

So I feel pretty lucky to have caught this and wanted to pass along this tale as to what can happen and we all got to be careful with situations like this. For sure if that had been the end of my work for the day and I left, I would have had a fire. Lesson learned

 

[Garageguy65]

You got lucky. Wow

 

[Highbeam]

Oily rags, old towel, could have ignited if you weren't even there. Spontaneous combustion. Might not have been the sparks at all. I don't keep old rags.

 

[Dragfluid]

A fire can for rags doesn't cost that much.

Especially when you consider the concequences.
Thanks for sharing this. Hopefully it will open more eyes.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

I really want to make a spark guard for my bench grinder. Either metal or high density wood in a big V shape or what have you behind it. Maybe a little lip on the top.

 

[softailgarage]

Every garage needs an oily rag can (covered) and fire extinguishers, there's no excuse for not having them. I keep a fire extinguisher at each corner in the garage , plus 2 in the kitchen.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Glad you caught it before it got out of hand!

I have started fires in the shop that way WAYYYYY too many times - either from a grinder or weld spatter. Too much going on in the shop to remember to go around fireproof the place when the sparks are about to fly, though I have gotten more cautious with age and do actually TRY nowadays.
I set the parts washer on fire from the other side of the shop once - that was kinda a big one as it go pretty big before i saw the reflection inside the welding mask and I lifted it up and looked around a saw 4 foot flames coming out of the washer.
Another time I set a cup full of lacquer thinner off next to my tool box - I though for sure the box would get charred before I could get that under control. Best part was when the plastic cup melted from the heat of it burning inside and it just spread flames all over the floor for about 10 seconds and went out.

 

[southalabama]

whew, close call,

depressing to see pics of burned down shops

 

[bczygan]

Good advice.

Timely.

I'm starting to make sparks, and don't know where they go.

I thought they just disappeared into thin air, or maybe went to another dimension.

Bill

 

[Richard Cranium]

too close for comfort

 

[PCustoms]

Lucky it wasn't worse.

The company ai work for is owned by a group with a deathly fear of fire. We inspect EVERYTHING. Anything beyond a heat gun requires a hot work permit with fire watch for 2 hrs after completing the work.

I now have 4 ABC extinguishers around the garage. One at each exit, 1 on the welder one in the back corner. There's also one just outside the door.

It's a 1.5 car garage.

 

[Stuart in MN]

There wasn't any mention of oily rags, just rags in a box.

 

[Marcm157]

My wife thinks I am paranoid having 4 - 10 pounders round the walls of my shop and a 5 pounder on my welding and torch carts. Overkill?? Maybe but I am deathly afraid of a fire.

 

[catalytic]

Usually when I smell burning when using angle grinders, it's just my hair...

 

[bad_idea]

I work in ship repair. We were once gutting a space to install new equipment. Using a plasma cutter to cut old brackets off the deck, set a bail of new rags on fire 30' away. 30 feet! Fire happens. Easy.

Glad you only had a minor scare. Get yourself a 2.5 Gallon Water Class A Fire Extinguisher. Easy to recharge at home, so you don't hesitate to use it. Remove all flammables and you won't need a dry chemical or CO2. You should still keep a dry chemical in the shop though when **** goes sideways.

 

[DirtyJersey]

Lucky it wasn't worse.

The company ai work for is owned by a group with a deathly fear of fire. We inspect EVERYTHING. Anything beyond a heat gun requires a hot work permit with fire watch for 2 hrs after completing the work.

I now have 4 ABC extinguishers around the garage. One at each exit, 1 on the welder one in the back corner. There's also one just outside the door.

It's a 1.5 car garage.

Fire safety is good
That said, I had to do a 4hr fire watch today for a heat iron[emoji33]
Hot work permit required for anything causing heat and they stuck to it up to the last minute.

All I did was tie in to a George Fisher pipe/poly pro.

I have started multiple small fires in my own garage.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[tdkkart]

There wasn't any mention of oily rags, just rags in a box.

Maybe you've noticed too, most people here either don't read the posts, or don't comprehend what they have read. Pretty sure the rest of them don't read the original post at all, just start in the middle of the thread.

 

[MrBalll]

Maybe you've noticed too, most people here either don't read the posts, or don't comprehend what they have read. Pretty sure the rest of them don't read the original post at all, just start in the middle of the thread.

Most likely what happened.

Good to hear you were able to get the problem taken care of quickly.

 

[softailgarage]

There wasn't any mention of oily rags, just rags in a box.

Maybe you've noticed too, most people here either don't read the posts, or don't comprehend what they have read. Pretty sure the rest of them don't read the original post at all, just start in the middle of the thread.

Doesn't matter if they're oily or not, sparks don't discriminate.

 

[Farmall450]

Every garage needs an oily rag can (covered) and fire extinguishers, there's no excuse for not having them. I keep a fire extinguisher at each corner in the garage , plus 2 in the kitchen.

Hopefully one by the door if nothing else

 

[mopar440_6]

My friends still can't seem to grasp why I'm so adamant about spending a minimum of one full hour in the shop after we do anything that makes sparks or heat. Reasons such as this are a very good example. My new rags get kept in an enclosed cabinet and my old rags go in a metal container with a lid. The oily rag can, flammables cabinet, and extinguishers are on order for the new shop.

Glad you caught it before it became a disaster.

 

[G_P]

I put any rags with oil or other flammable liquids/greases on them into a small steel trash can with a lid on it. May not stop all fires, but it's better than throwing them in the regular trash or leaving them laying around. I also have multiple CO2 and dry chem extinguishers located throughout the shop/house and even in my shed. A fire extinguisher is insanely cheap compared to the cost of even minor fire damage.
Spontaneous combustion of rags is fairly common and quite dangerous.

Also remember that cutoff wheels can throw sparks well beyond 10 feet, and if a small chunk of glowing metal is grabbed and thrown, it can go clear across the shop and land somewhere to start a fire. I try to use cutoff wheels outdoors whenever possible and if I use them inside, I will hang a canvas tarp to block the sparks. Rather burn a hole in a tarp than burn down my house!

 

[Showkey]

Just a note spontaneous combustion of oil rags is related to "drying oils" like stain, finishing and linseed oil. It is not hydrocarbon oils like motor oil.
You still need to handle all rags safely and with good housekeeping habits.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/inflinspontaneouscombust.html

http://www.tcforensic.com.au/docs/uts/essay6.pdf

 

[MFolks]

I had a friend and his wife in Ca. lose their home to spontaneous combustion. The wife used(I think) Lindseed oil,on rags, to stain some furniture,and placed them inside a plastic garbage can with the lid on,placed under the back porch eves.

They went away to do some dancing,and got a call from their neighbors about the fire, returning home to watch the local fire Dept.put out the smoldering ashes of their house.

The rags had enough trapped oxygen to ignite,blowing the lid off the plastic container,with the flames licking initially against the house's eves,but later igniting the side and ceilings. Not something I'd care to have happen to me.

 

[ovilla]

I busted a bolt head while trying to remove my AC compressor the other night, so I brought out the welder to weld a nut on. There I am, late in the evening, focused on my welding with sparks flying everywhere (on a sloped driveway). Yup, a rag over by my jacks stand 4-5" away ignites so quick you would have thought someone was squirting lighter fluid on it. I still had my welding helmet on and as I was looking at my glowing red nut I just happen to see my little red shop rag engulfed in flames.

PLEASE be careful folks!

 

[Norcal]

While it is no substitute for fire extinguishers, being aware of where sparks are going and sending them in a direction that is less dangerous is quite helpful, sending them in the direction of stored items is asking for trouble.

 

[jt777]

Fires in the garage always scare me. They just aren't fun

 

[kingchevy]

Here is a pic of a couple of linseed oil rags that my worker was kind enough to put in the back of my truck at the end of the day. Lucky that I found them, they were smoking hot at this point.

 

[cdestuck]

Oily rags, old towel, could have ignited if you weren't even there. Spontaneous combustion. Might not have been the sparks at all. I don't keep old rags.

Was not even a used rag. Keep a couple in a box for when I clean my hands with Awesome Orange spray cleaner. I know to about spontaneous combustion and lay those rags outside to dry and into the trash. Just a spark on something flammable

 

[cdestuck]

I work in ship repair. We were once gutting a space to install new equipment. Using a plasma cutter to cut old brackets off the deck, set a bail of new rags on fire 30' away. 30 feet! Fire happens. Easy.

Glad you only had a minor scare. Get yourself a 2.5 Gallon Water Class A Fire Extinguisher. Easy to recharge at home, so you don't hesitate to use it. Remove all flammables and you won't need a dry chemical or CO2. You should still keep a dry chemical in the shop though when **** goes sideways.

Oh my shop is supplied with 4 extinguishers and a water hose real handy.

 

[NUTTSGT]

CDE, glad you caught it when you did, I hate to see people lose their stuff to fires, especially to some freak accident.



You can take all the precautions in the world that are possible but if fire wants you, it's going to get you. I know it sounds ****** to say but it's the reality of it all. I would be happy not to ever read another thread of a member here (or their friends and family) that had a fire.

 

[dlcwent]

FIRE..........Always seems to get Nutts attention. I wonder why????????

Just giving you a poke Nutts.

 

[flat tire]

call me paranoid, but I have :
2-1 lb co2 1-15 lb co2
1-20 lb co2
2-10 lb dry chemical
3-5 lb dry chemical
2 pyro sentinel fire alarms
5 glass carbon tetrachloride fire extinguishers
2-2.5 gallon water extinguishers
3-3lb dry chemical
last week I had a fire in my grill. my fault. I replaced the standard regulator with a 30 lb one.
I never backed off the 30 lb. regulator before lighting. ****! I had a large fire ball under the grill.
my fire extinguisher saved the grill

 

[kelpaso1]

I work in ship repair. We were once gutting a space to install new equipment. Using a plasma cutter to cut old brackets off the deck, set a bail of new rags on fire 30' away. 30 feet! Fire happens. Easy.

Glad you only had a minor scare. Get yourself a 2.5 Gallon Water Class A Fire Extinguisher. Easy to recharge at home, so you don't hesitate to use it. Remove all flammables and you won't need a dry chemical or CO2. You should still keep a dry chemical in the shop though when **** goes sideways.

How do you recharge these? Is there a cap to refill with water and do you use an air chuck to pressure it up?

Edit: Nevermind I checked Youtube. But I will definitely be getting a couple of these.

 

[NUTTSGT]

How do you recharge these? Is there a cap to refill with water and do you use an air chuck to pressure it up?

Edit: Nevermind I checked Youtube. But I will definitely be getting a couple of these.

Basically, bleed the pressure off, remove the top and fill with the appropriate amount of water. Replace the top and do not overtighten. Grab the air chuck and fill it up until you put the needle in the green.

If you pick up one of these used, by all means, you should have it tested (hydrostatically) before you use it.

 

[kelpaso1]

Basically, bleed the pressure off, remove the top and fill with the appropriate amount of water. Replace the top and do not overtighten. Grab the air chuck and fill it up until you put the needle in the green.

If you pick up one of these used, by all means, you should have it tested (hydrostatically) before you use it.

Thanks. I will buy new one's but wholly ****, they cost $ 200-400 up here in Canada

 

[BikerDad]

last week I had a fire in my grill. my fault. I replaced the standard regulator with a 30 lb one.
I never backed off the 30 lb. regulator before lighting. ****! I had a large fire ball under the grill.
my fire extinguisher saved the grill

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the POINT of a grill "to have fire"?

 

[SIX225]

I've heard of fireplace ashes being disposed of days after the fire is out causing a fire when dumped in the trash. Tried to tell my sister's ex about this but fell on deaf ears. Luckily never a problem.

 

[Norcal]

Seeing the rag in post # 28 reminded me when was staining a cabinet door years ago, every time would wad the rag up it would get real warm, open it up it would go away, only have had it happen with that one brand & not sure if that company is still in business, but since then have been real freaky about oil soaked rags.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

That's one of the many reasons to use the grinder guards on these sorts of tools, as well as coming up with ways (positioning, shields) to "direct" the sparks..

My wife thinks I'm crazy when I pull up the shop rugs and water around the edges of my garage shop with the water fire extinguisher (silver bullet) before I start major welding projects..

Linseed oil is the devil's own product.. I have seen and heard many many stories of fires as a result. In the painting shop I worked in as a kid, they would purposefully lay out rags to "dry properly" on the ground out back by the trash, prior to disposal.. I still use that method today in my basement shop....if they're not in the safety rag can, they're laid out in the open on a machine element that if they catch fire, they won't do much damage.... We used the same method in my machine trades class in high school.. the rags went in between the rails of the end of the lathe, no matter what rag it was or where it had been used.....

Good to hear it worked out well for you OP....