We talk a lot on this blog about how to maintain and repair your garage door. Yet none of that maintaining or repairing is going to matter if you have a garage fire and burn either your garage or your whole house down. For this reason, we are going to go over some garage fire prevention tips in order for you to avoid a fire in your garage.
Keep, Use and Store Flammables Responsibly.
Flammable liquids such as cans of gasoline, oil, turpentine are considered flammable for reason. In many cases, it doesn’t take many heat sources to catch them on fire. So naturally, use some commonsense practices with these liquids. If you are smoking a cigarette in the garage, maybe don’t do it right near a can of gasoline. If possible, Store such items in a fireproof metal cabinet. Make sure that the cabinet door closes securely. Storing these liquids apart from other garage items, you will significantly reduce the amount of fuel for any potential fires.
Properly Use and Store Chargers
In many cases, power tools and other electronics get charged in the garage. Chargers do emit heat, so you don’t want too many together, and at a safe distance from other objects. You also want to have enough airflow around each charger. If possible, plug only one charging appliance into an outlet Also, be mindful of overcharging items, such as electric bike batteries. In many cases, if the object stays on the charger well past when it is fully charged, it can overheat the charger and cause a fire.
Mindful of Oily Rags.
If you do a lot of vehicle work in the garage, chances are you have some oily rags. This is perfectly ok, just be mindful of not putting them anywhere near heat sources where the oily rag could catch on fire. If possible, do not have pile of them altogether, as that can cause an issue if a fire were to start.
Organize Your Garage and Reduce Your Clutter.
All the tips above fall also into this last tip, keep your garage organized and reduce the clutter in your garage. Every item in your garage is flammable to some degree. So, if everything is piled on top of one another, if a small fire breaks out, clutter can turn a small fire that could easily be put out into a massive house fire. Add shelves to keep items that can burn on shelves away from appliances. Plus, if you organize your garage, it will be easier to store your combustible liquids away from other objects, your chargers will have the airflow they need and you have a place to put your rags.
Every year, there are 6,600 garage fires in homes that result in an average of 30 deaths, 400 injuries, and over 400 million in property damage. Yet with some commonsense garage fire prevention, you can keep you and your home from being one of those statistics.