Home Security Beat

Garage Safety: Ways to Prevent Fires

There could be so many volatile liquids in your garage that one spark could cause a house explosion. Keeping your garage organized and clean can prevent you from having a major accident that destroys your home or injures someone.

Flammable and combustible liquids can burn easily. However, there is a difference between the two in regard to their flashpoints. Flammable liquids catch on fire and burn at normal working temperatures while combustible liquids react above working temperatures.

Gasoline, oil and paints are flammable liquids that are common garage items. When storing these materials, keep small amounts, label them clearly in a sealed container and place them far from flame and heat sources. If you spill one of these liquids in your garage, clean it up immediately with cat litter. The clay in the litter absorbs the liquid and makes cleaning quick and easy so accidents don’t occur. Just sweep up the debris and put it in a plastic bag in your outside garbage bin.

One item you should never keep in your home or garage is a propane cylinder, because these are highly combustible. The metal cylinders are sturdy enough to be kept outdoors. Below are more precautions you should take.

• Avoid smoking in your garage as well as storing matches or throwing cigarette butts.

• Screw in light bulbs with the appropriate wattage, because a higher watt bulb could cause an electrical fire.

• Don’t put too many plugs in the outlets and overload them. Also, tape down wires to prevent yanking or twisting. Remember, just one spark can cause a fire.

• Install shelving units so all of your dangerous liquids are visible. Storing these items off of the ground prevents people from tripping on them and also from children getting into them.

• Take advantage of local household hazardous waste collection drives. Sometimes local recycling centers or waste management facilities will hold these events so homeowners can properly throw hazardous material away. If you’re not going to use it, there is no sense of it being a danger in your garage.

• Clean and sweep your garage at least once a month to clear out dust, cobwebs and trash.

• Install a fire detector and keep a fire extinguisher in your garage. Don’t forget to check that the detector is working every month, because the batteries will need replaced.

Garages are a great space for storage, but it’s important to know exactly what you have in there so you can protect your home. You can keep extra gasoline and oil on hand, but you need to stabilize the environment as much as you can to prevent accidents.

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Tags: flammable and combustible liquids, how to clean up oil, prevent garage fires