Some important words to adhere to!

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red446

red446

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Well I'm sure most of you would not be as stupid as I was. Today I was cleaning up the inside the housing on an old DANA 60 I found. I had it set up on jack stands in my basement with the opening tilted down so brake cleaner and gunk would run out into drain pan. I was spraying heavily and making good progress when out of nowhere, as fast as you could say "POOF" the entire area I was working in was ENGULFED IN FLAMES. There was no leading trail, just instant flames. i grabbed the pan with the fluid but must have spilt it as I dashed it to my exit door. which is no direct shot. My basement is full of clutter. When i got to the door I yelled HELP..... FIRE !!!!!!!!!!!!! then rushed right back in to try and extinguish the flames by this time which paper and cardboard were now joined in. I have a spigot on the wall near where I was working but no ready hose. I turned that on and let it drown the floor. I grabbed whatever I could that was burnig and threw it outside on my pavement. There was a large peice of cardboard on the floor where i was working and though burning I grabbed it and used it to stamp out the flames on the floor then I used a , now wet, shirt to extinguish all remaining flames and embers. Guys there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I could have extinguished these flames by myself and I give ALL the Thanks To GOD. My neighbor had come over with a fire extinguisher but by that time i had just won the war. I then tryid to figure out WHY this happened. There of coarse was plenty of fuel but nothing on the floor. Where did the ignition come from? 3 feet away was my boiler, and though summer is here and it's not in use, the pilot is still lit, which obviously ignited the FUMES and that ignited the drain pan and the diff. I know you're going to say, why didn't I call the fire Dept, and I won't condone this but had I done that, the time lost would have meant my entire basement and I would have been able to do nothing but watch half my house be destroyed by the time they arrived.
Guys please be careful, you may not be as lucky to have GOD on your side as I did today. Oh I also burned my hand and my leg, but it's fine. One other thing, 1 foot away from where the flames reach to, was a race jug with 5 gallons of fuel in it.
 
Wow! At least ,nothing was damaged. The higher power,appreciated.
 
Glad you are OK and got the fire out. Thank you very much for sharing this. By reading it, somebody else may avoid making the same or a similar mistake. You are very lucky it turned out as it did. It sounds as though it could have been a whole different story in this thread.
 
Yup. This is why all ignition sources have to be up off the floor in a garage area. Unless codes have changed, 18" above the floor, and that's not near enough in my opinion.

I had an interesting incident back in the mid 70's

Was working with a friend in his drafty old shop, not airtight at all. I was in one corner, a sandy area, had been washing parts to get the worst off in a diesel mix. I had a pan of gas on the floor and was rinsing off the diesel mix.

Now it was 30-40*F in there, winter, so not warm at all. My friend was about 15-20 ft away in the opposite corner, fired up the torch. I could SEE the flame front coming at me across the floor. I rolled over in the sand, all that got me was my hands for just a second, and got my hands into the sandy material --ended up didn't do more than barely singe some hair.

But BOY do I remember THAT

By the way, "brakeclean," before it became illegal to use refrigerant based solvents, was NOT flammable, and was known to us in the Navy as "safety solvent." (trichloroethylene)
 
Glad you weren't hurt and you got the fire out! Good idea for everyone to have a fire extinguisher (or maybe several) in their garage/workshop or where ever you might be working. I need to get one myself.
 
Please get the gasoline can out of the basement. That is an explosion waiting for just a little opportunity of a leak, puncture, tip over or anything.
 
Good thing a gas can didn't get involved. Really glad no more damage was done or you weren't hurt. Two words. FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
 
I have been told to fight the fire as best you can with what you have. Taking time in calling fire dept can cause loss. Having someone else call while u fight is best.

I went through a house fire 30 years ago. I called 911 while fighting and just said Fire and gave my address and set phone down and proceeded to fight. With what little I could do. The house wasn't a total loss. Kept contained to the corner it started in...Electrical.

Glad your ok
 
Not a can Guys, approved chemical jug. but done nonetheless


jaimus said:
Got one on every floor,...You got Lucky, my friend,...Fer chrissakes get the gascan outa the basement...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for sharing that and you are Ok.
We all make mistakes and learn from them including me.


Darryl
 
Thanks Darryl, Appreciate the POSITIVE, and all else who showed concern. Lesson learned. :violent1:



We all make mistakes and learn from them including me.


Darryl[/QUOTE]
 
please read the label closely. some manufacturers of brake clean solvents list on their MSDS the reactivity with fire to create phosgene gas. this is a horrible inhales poison and there is no cure for poisoning resulting from this gas. if caught soon Systemic damage to the lungs can be prevented. if you cannot find the information on the label contact the manufacturer, if they don't respond quick enough with the holidays I would get my *** into an emergency room quickly. I'm not trying to scare you this is just a horrible fact.
 
I just discovered this post is over 4 days old. please get checked out. from what I understand steroidal treatment can curb the affects of the poison, if you have been exposed.
 
funwithfuel said:
please read the label closely. some manufacturers of brake clean solvents list on their MSDS the reactivity with fire to create phosgene gas. this is a horrible inhales poison and there is no cure for poisoning resulting from this gas. if caught soon Systemic damage to the lungs can be prevented. if you cannot find the information on the label contact the manufacturer, if they don't respond quick enough with the holidays I would get my *** into an emergency room quickly. I'm not trying to scare you this is just a horrible fact.
Click to expand...

funwithfuel said:
I just discovered this post is over 4 days old. please get checked out. from what I understand steroidal treatment can curb the affects of the poison, if you have been exposed.
Click to expand...


I believe you'll find that the FLAMMABLE solvents don't create this problem. I'm pretty sure only the (pretty much regulated and banned) refrigerant based or flurocarbons are the ones with the phosgene gas problem. That's not to say that the various and lengthy list of flammable solvents aren't toxic, either burned or simply in evaporated form.
 
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