What is the Fire Triangle?
Any fire requires three basic elements to start and to maintain itself: oxygen, heat, and fuel. Eliminate any of these three and the fire will go out, or won’t start in the first place. Unfortunately, all three are available in abundance in the average garage. The trick is to use some practical safety tips to prevent them from coming together in the wrong way and start a fire.
Oxygen
The presence of oxygen in your garage is both obvious and impossible to eliminate. If a fire starts in your garage, you can smother it to put it out. Certain household fire extinguishers use this method. It’s a safe practice to keep one handy in your garage at all times.
Heat
There are a lot of potential heat sources in your garage, some that you might not think of right away. Take a look around your garage and see if you can spot any of these hidden dangers.
Oils
One of the less obvious heat sources is simple chemicals like tung oil or linseed oil used for wood finishing. Rags soaked in these oils react with the oxygen in the air and create heat. In a small enough space, this heat can build up to a flashpoint and start a fire. To prevent this risk, always hang out your rags to dry in an open-air space where the heat can’t build up.
Compost
Believe it or not, simple organic compost creates a certain amount of heat during the decomposition process. This is normally not a problem, but in a confined space it can be a hazard. For this and many other reasons, it’s best to do your composting out back rather than in the garage.
Fuel
In regards to the fire triangle, fuel is more than just gasoline. It refers to anything that can combust or burn given enough heat. This includes flammable chemicals, newspaper, cardboard boxes, wood, and lots of other things.
When it comes to highly flammable things like gas, kerosene, and other chemicals, always follow proper storage practices. Use appropriately marked and properly sealed containers. Keep fuel sources like newspaper bundles or rags away from any heat sources like electrical outlets, space heaters, or water heaters.
Call Us for Garage Door Repairs
Following these simple tips involving the fire triangle will help you prevent garage fires. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to have experienced a garage fire and need repair work done, give us a call. Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Raleigh, North Carolina is available 24 hours a day to take your call. Whether you need repairs or an entirely new garage, we are ready to help.
