Fires inside garages are no joke. Most garages contain tons of flammable items, from gasoline and antifreeze, to grease, rags, and wood. Many garages often contain additional heat sources like furnaces or water heaters – that can spark a fire as well. The way to keep your garage fireproof is to ensure that you maintain a collection of proper equipment, and always make smart tactical choices that can prevent fire. Here’s our guide to garage fire safety.

Safety Steps

• If you’re sanding or cutting wood, you’re creating small wood chips or sawdust. These particulates or larger pieces are much more susceptible to fire than larger pieces of wood. Always sweep them away to minimize fire risk.
• Always seal all stain, paint, solvent, or oil containers, and store them in a stable and safe area.
• Always throw out oily rags to avoid fire risk. Place them in a steel container with a lid that closes itself – or hang them outside on a line in a single layer, far from any sources of heat, sparks, or flame.

Storage Steps

Fires need oxygen, fuel, and heat. If you avoid these three factors from meeting, you’ve greatly reduced the chances of a fire. Make sure to keep all combustible materials away from any sources of heat or flame – which include space heaters, furnaces, boilers, or water heaters. Any flammable objects or products like paint thinner, gasoline, spray paint, or wood finishes should be kept in a stable, secure, and designated storage container that has a door that closes (and preferably self-closes.)

Safety Equipment

It’s not necessary to spend a fortune on fire safety equipment – but spending some cash on it is necessary to maintain a fully safe garage. Always keep a fire extinguisher inside your garage, ideally close to any exit door. Make sure to have a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector installed, with fresh batteries. You may, if you’re regularly working with flammable materials, or have a furnace or boiler in your garage, opt to install a sprinkler system inside your garage, or extending the existing sprinkler system that may be in your home – this is never a bad idea.