Always make sure you know where your fire extinguishers are when working in your garage/shop

Don't be this guy

A Hillsboro man suffered severe burns when a fire broke out while he was working on the fuel system of a Corvette, fire officials said.

The vehicle fire broke out in the garage of a home at 128 Autumn Wood Terrace and spread to two bedrooms above, Hillsboro Fire Department spokesman Storm Smith said. The one-alarm fire was under control by 9:43 p.m., about 15 minutes after it broke out.

The man was taken to the Legacy Oregon Burn Center.

No one else was injured, Smith said. The vehicle was destroyed, as were a second Corvette and a Chevy SUV parked in the driveway.

The home was severely damaged. Smith said the combined damage to the home and cars was estimated at $125,000.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com 503-294-5034 @enjus

And be careful with radiator hoses. That was one of my best sellers when I ran a burn unit. Oh, and acetylene hoses, those were popular. But my all time best seller had to be BBQ grills. Specifically getting them started, or getting them going "more" when they were kinda piddly. Of course, trash fires and the ever popular chemical plant explosion were always big too.

Yep I had fire at the garage last week. Spraying starter fluid in the intake but didn't noticed the break in the coil wire which caused an issue. I'll just say the engine might of had a bit of gas around it also. Only thing that saved me was a 32 ounce gatorade bottle filled with urine that we use as our bathroom.

So, what you're saying is that if your car catches on fire, piss on it?

Dr. Hess wrote: So, what you're saying is that if your car catches on fire, piss on it?

Your avatar approves

Exactly, but it saved the car. In fact, 30 minutes later I got it started without the started fluid and moved it around the garage. lol

The wife is going to be PISSED when she gets home.

You know come to think of it I have never had a real issue with fire.

I have had a couple carb fires due to leaking fuel and others due to firing order issues and once a high-pressure fuel line caught on fire as it had a pin hole spraying fuel onto the intake that ignited from a leaking plug wire. I once had a grease fire in a hub that got REALLY hot due to a dragging / stuck caliper. That was a SOB to put out.

I always keep an extinguisher around and ALWAYS disconnect the battery cables when working on the motor or the fuel system. Even if it is at the rear of the car. Guess I am just lucky.

On a side note when you are welding the risk of fire goes up a bunch and I can not usually see the fire with my helmet on. When you are welding and you all of a sudden see a piece of paper on the bench start to magically disappear that is a hint. Oh and don't ignore weird smells when welding. That burning rubber or plastic smell is not a "normal" welding smell. Trust me on this.

I know it's hard to do with house prices and all but doing car work in a detached garage is probably a good idea too. I remember visiting Mt. Vernon and was a little surprised at the separate building for the kitchen and the reason being fire hazard way back in post-colonial times. More on topic would Walmart be a decent place to buy fire extinguishers for each of my three cars or Amazon despite the wait time and possible shipping charges?

Yeah... who has the best deal on extinguishers these days?

Teach your kids to use the FE too, and let them know where they're located... had the kids pop off on them, for the experience.

Years later the boy was cooking something, grease fire in the pan, he doused it with the FE. May or may not have been overkill, but fire was out quick, and he had the kitchen cleaned up by the time we got home.

Beats the hell out of alternatives, that's for sure.

In reply to OldGray320i:

Did better than the teenage girl. I had a grease fire in the BBQ grill on the back porch a while back. Rolling black smoke and flames coming out all the way around.

She walks in the house and says (in passing and bored tone) "something might be going on with the grill". Thanks kid.

The reasons that I sheet-rocked the inside of my garage were that the lighter surface reflects light better, I could bury insulation, and perhaps most of all - the 1-hour fire separation!

I had the bettery in the Fairmont EXPLODE when I was trying to get the 347 started for the first time. Luckily, anybody close to it was shielded by body panels, so nobody went to the hospital. It ruined the brand-new paint job on the engine, though, and I made a hell of a mess in my buddy's garage filling the frame rails with enough water to make sure that the acid didn't damage the structure.

Look at just about any picture of my shop and there is a fire extinguisher in it. There are 6 of them. You will never be more than 10' from a fire extinguisher and can run in any direction to grab one.

Two here.

Two here.

I don't have pictures of the ones mounted by both doors. I've never had a shop fire, but if I ever do, the odds are it's going to be a doozie. I at least have a chance to put it out.

KyAllroad wrote: In reply to OldGray320i: Did better than the teenage girl. I had a grease fire in the BBQ grill on the back porch a while back. Rolling black smoke and flames coming out all the way around. She walks in the house and says (in passing and bored tone) "something might be going on with the grill". Thanks kid.

Ouch.

I play w/ high pressure steam for a living, a potential bomb there and it don't bother me at all. Welding, grinding, fuel leaks while working in the garage I'm paranoid about. Scary how fast one little spark can ignite fuel or debris and get away from ya... like before ya berkeleying know it fast.

dean1484 wrote: On a side note when you are welding the risk of fire goes up a bunch and I can not usually see the fire with my helmet on. When you are welding and you all of a sudden see a piece of paper on the bench start to magically disappear that is a hint. Oh and don't ignore weird smells when welding. That burning rubber or plastic smell is not a "normal" welding smell. Trust me on this.

I almost posted these very words in another thread yesterday. So, so true!

The same goes for grinding steel too. I set a flannel and a sweatshirt smoldering from grinding sparks. Luckily I smelled it before it got out of hand!

My daughter had a friend in high school whose house burned to the ground and they lost everything but the clothes on their back. Somebody was trying to jump a dead battery in a car inside the garage. It explode and caught the house ( a very large and expensive one) on fire.

When first house shopping with my wife her only requirement for the garage was that it be detached from the house. She felt it was good long term planning.

The fire inspector who checked out my house pre-foster kids asked my wife what kind of work her husband did at the house that he needed a 30lb extinguisher on each floor.

I almost toasted El Rabbito while sorting out it's fuel system. I got lucky with a few bottles of water I had handy while holding the small cage mount extinguisher and praying,

I have had two fires. Both were while welding. On my Sentra the undercoating caught on fire while welding in a floor plate on a roll cage. I had an extinguisher nearby and was able to put it out quickly.

The parking lot build had a similar issue while welding a roll bar base plate in near a plastic fuel line. Again it was put out quickly. Be careful fire is scary stuff.

In addition to the garage, keep a cheap auto/marine extinguisher in every car, two if it has a carburetor, three if it's an air cooled VW.

My next (or next running) Lotus will have a foam system.

I've burnt up two sets of jumper cables.

I also had a grease fire in my grill. I shut it off, disconnected the propane, and moved it to a safe location and let it burn itself out.