Where Good Neighbors and Good Servicemen Meet

Fire Hazards

Most people know they should not store flammables in the vicinity of a furnace or hot water heater, but there are less obvious hazards. One of my customers parked his lawn mower in his attached garage. Unfortunately, the garage also contained a gas hot water heater. Gasoline leaked from the mower, and he had a big house fire.

I park my car in my garage and, yes, it has gasoline in the tank. Besides that my garage has a gas water heater. Code says the hot water tank should elevated 18". If the gasoline should leak from my car, the fumes settle. Also the newer gas water heaters are built with additional fire protection.

One of my neighbors used gasoline as a spot remover, and then washed the clothing. A relay in the washing machine emitted a spark, and there was an explosion that destroyed her washing machine, and damaged the laundry room.

Your AC, appliances, light switches—even your cell phones—emit tiny sparks each time a circuit is made or broken. The presence of flammables, including gas fumes, can be disastrous.

My brother's car was parked in his attached garage, and he was charging the battery. When he removed the charging cables, there was a spark that ignited gasoline fumes under the hood. He started a $125,000 house fire. If he had instead unplugged the extension cord at the outlet, there would have been no problem.

It's Kool to Be Careful,

Dr. Kool

p.s. If you're not yet registered, by all means do it now—it's easy, and it's free!