[greg24k]

Did you fellas hear about this...

A deck staining project led to a spontaneous combustion fire that caused $150,000 in damage in Oakville.

Firefighters were called to the house after someone left rags on the deck soaked in linseed oil and they burst into flames.
The deck was engulfed in fire and flames spread to the back of the home causing $150,000k in damage.

 

[CITY DECKS INC]

Did you fellas hear about this...

A deck staining project led to a spontaneous combustion fire that caused $150,000 in damage in Oakville.

Firefighters were called to the house after someone left rags on the deck soaked in linseed oil and they burst into flames.
The deck was engulfed in fire and flames spread to the back of the home causing $150,000k in damage.

It happened to customer of mine. A week away from starting the architect next door was sealing his ipe tiles and left the soaked rag of messmers in the trash bag closed up ov course. The next thing the family was running out of there house in there underwear. tragic.

 

[tedanderson]

We had a spontaneous combustion situation when I was a teenager working at Pizza Hut some 20+ years ago. The contractor was replacing a couple of washable PVC wall panels using adhesive that was similar to vinyl floor tile adhesive but a whole lot more volatile. He sat the open bucket next to the gas water heater and as he was putting the last panel in place, a big inferno surrounded the water heater, set the guy's hair on fire and then it blew a fireball across the entire kitchen knocking down two of the cooks in the process.

Thankfully nobody was hurt and it was more smoke damage than anything. In fact the fire was out by the time the fire department got there. I can't even remember who stayed inside of the building to call the fire department but they were there in a matter of minutes.

 

[Fouthgeneration]

40 years ago, everyone that took even ONE shop class was taught that oily rags will start fires.... Remember the red trash can with the self closing lid, that said "empty daily"....

Sad to see all that ipe damaged, America has way too many architects....though

 

[Spencer]

40 years ago, everyone that took even ONE shop class was taught that oily rags will start fires.... Remember the red trash can with the self closing lid, that said "empty daily"....

Sad to see all that ipe damaged, America has way too many architects....though

It should still be. It should also be a part of any licensing exam.

Its one of those things you don't know until you are taught, or find out the hard way. Not something 99% of people are going to anticipate without being informed beforehand.

 

[Fouthgeneration]

And there was the chemistry class in high school where you learn everything is slowly burning up---The "slow fire of decay", reduction or oxidizing.

Remember the steel wool in a glass jar, then replace the Air with straight Oxy--Poof! Saw dust, explosive under right conditions, lacquer anything, flour, grain dust, swamp gas, sewer gas, unburned Natural gas from temp heaters, powdered aluminum & powdered coal.

The more ignorant the Herd, the easier it is to hoodwink them. No tyrant wants an educated serf or Peon.

 

[woodchuck2]

Saw a kid "teenager" on a job a couple winters ago who dumped out his bosses shop vac full of sawdust on a small fire outside. I will never forget the look of terror on that kids face when the sawdust caught and became a fireball. After i saw he was ok i just shook my head and asked him "what have they been teaching you kids in school these days"? That was when i learned the schools around here were dropping shop classes. I remember caring for the rags and sawdust being a ritual in shop class.

 

[m1911]

We had a spontaneous combustion situation when I was a teenager working at Pizza Hut some 20+ years ago. The contractor was replacing a couple of washable PVC wall panels using adhesive that was similar to vinyl floor tile adhesive but a whole lot more volatile. He sat the open bucket next to the gas water heater and as he was putting the last panel in place, a big inferno surrounded the water heater, set the guy's hair on fire and then it blew a fireball across the entire kitchen knocking down two of the cooks in the process.



Thankfully nobody was hurt and it was more smoke damage than anything. In fact the fire was out by the time the fire department got there. I can't even remember who stayed inside of the building to call the fire department but they were there in a matter of minutes.

Except it's not spontaneous combustion if there is a source of ignition near by (gas water heater pilot). If you read the back of any contact cement or other flammable material it specifically warns about the risk of using near sources of ignition.

Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high temperatures) and finally, ignition.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_combustion#cite_note-1

 

[Metro M & L]

It should still be. It should also be a part of any licensing exam.

Its one of those things you don't know until you are taught, or find out the hard way. Not something 99% of people are going to anticipate without being informed beforehand.

Or you could read the back of the can...

 

[pinwheel]

Or you could read the back of the can...

Who reads directions, they're just one mans opinion, aren't they?:whistling


We had a close call with spontaneous combustion a couple months ago. My backpack vac caught fire in the night in a clients new home. Fortunately, it was setting in the middle of the garage with nothing flamable close by & it put itself out before causing any real damage.

Prompted a phone call to my insurance company. Turns out, I'm insured for such events to the tune of $100K

 

[Kowboy]

Apparently no one is safe:

 

[greg24k]

It happened to customer of mine. A week away from starting the architect next door was sealing his ipe tiles and left the soaked rag of messmers in the trash bag closed up ov course. The next thing the family was running out of there house in there underwear. tragic.

I've seen a few times this happen but not with the soaked rags, but with the dust from after they sanded the floors. One time a dumpster caught fire, someone flicked a cig and in the middle of the night bags with dust went up in flames... and a while back this guy was building a house a few blocks from me and after they sanded the floors, the left the bags with dust inside and they caught fire, and did some substantial damage (this one I don't know how it caught fire, I always thought it was insurance job because the house was sitting on the market for a long time)

 

[catfish]

Working on a condo in Destin, FL., The stainers, russians who spoke little English, threw their stain rags in a plastic barrel with the sawdust.
At night it was surrounded by tools, 3 table saws and 3 miters. When I got there, the floor was filled with smoke. The barrel had melted all over the teak floor and the mahogany trim was black.

I left the building and let others open the doors and go in the room. No telling how much that cost. A lot, since it was a 3 bed, 3 bath on one floor overlooking Destin, Harbor.

 

[parkers5150]

the long...short. worked late, threw a couple rags in the back of the truck with intentions to immediately remove and dispose of properly....:no: 2 hrs later truck burned to the ground!!!

 

[Metro M & L]

Who reads directions, they're just one mans opinion, aren't they?:whistling

We had a close call with spontaneous combustion a couple months ago. My backpack vac caught fire in the night in a clients new home. Fortunately, it was setting in the middle of the garage with nothing flamable close by & it put itself out before causing any real damage.

Prompted a phone call to my insurance company. Turns out, I'm insured for such events to the tune of $100K

I dont think I would have called my agent.

 

[rrk]

I worked with a mason once who was a vol. fire chief, he had no idea that could happen. He answered a call the night before where the floor guys laid the rags out flat on the driveway and the homeowner threw them in the waste can of saw dust to get them off the driveway. Several hours later the can started on fire and spread to the shed.

How do you get to become fire chief and not know that??


Near where I am working now a house burned down from rags soaked in teak oil left on the side porch.

 

[brhokel606]

Not to change totally the OP, but I was also a vol. firefighter way back when. You would be suprised how many fires occur from the dryer vent not cleaned or being blocked. I check mine every few months now. A good shot from the air compressor does wonders.

 

[fireguy]

The local school hired someone to refinish the gym floor. At the end of the day, they threw the rags into a pile on the floor. The flames were visible from 30 miles away and we had mutual aid from 5 or 6 departments.

And just because someone is a line officer, means nothing. I recall a fire in a fryer. My fire system put out the fire. The paid FD shows up and the Captain told the hoseman to go in with a pressurized extinguisher and put out the fire. The fire was out! and the hose man used a water extinguisher on a grease fire! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

 

[littlefred811]

About a decade a go, a "Parade of Homes" unit got burnt to the ground when the stain crew did their thing, and stashed it in the garage...sing along if you know the rest of the words.

Glad I didn't have anything to do with that project. "Parade" homes are always a cluster****.