San Diego home inspections with Russel Ray — Is your garage a fire waiting to happen?

Is your garage a fire waiting to happen?

House fires have interested me all my life, first as a juvenile arsonist in northern Utah when I was between the ages of six and eleven, and now as a home inspector who can help people prevent fires in their homes.

A recent fire report stated that the fire started in the garage and caused about $150,000 in property damage. The problem I have with newspapers is that they rarely provide the full story, just enough information to provide a sensationalistic story with a sensationalistic headline that will sell newspapers.

Whenever a fire interests me, I make a visit to the fire station that responded to the fire to see if they'll provide additional information. As long as it's not an active crime investigation, they will.

The fire in this case was attributed to a homeowner who was lighting the pilot light on his furnace which was located in the garage. The floor of his garage also looked like this:

Carpet is flammable, and even more so if it has been soaked with oil. The home owner, in trying to light the pilot light, used several matches, one of which he knocked on the carpet, which then smoldered and eventually caught fire.

There are four lessons to be learned here:

1. Carpet does not belong on your garage floor. Think about what you do in your garage, what you store in your garage, and any accidents with gas, paint, fertilizer, etc., can soak that carpet until it is just a fire waiting to happen.
2. Maintain your car so that you don't have oil on the garage floor. This means checking the garage floor to look for fresh oil spots, which mean you need to take your car to a repair shop.
3. Another maintenance task for your car is that pesky engine light. I can tell you from personal experience that the engine light often means a failing catalytic converter, and a failing catalytic converter can result in hot sparks being thrown from the exhaust pipe. I think we all know what hot sparks on carpet has the potential to do.
4. If you still have a furnace that does not have electronic ignition, it might be time to upgrade to a more modern furnace, which will also be more efficient in providing heat to your home. That means you'll have a lower heating bill, which means you save money, which means you can have margarita to celebrate!

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