Many people store gasoline in improper containers in garages, as well as lawnmowers and other gasoline operated qequipment, but improper containers that cannot keep their contents when knocked over can cause a fire if a source of ignition is present.
I inspected a house in Belle Terre, NY yesterday and found an old Clorox plastic bottle with no top, and this 'can' was deteriorating as it contained gasoline, and this type of plastic eventually melts when in contact with gasoline. The container was about to fall apart, and would have released its contents onto the floor - near the gas fired water heater which was in service! Yikes!!
I alerted the seller, who called her husband, and he came home to remove this fire hazard. He also is the one who decided it was a good idead to open a wall from his boiler room into the garage so he can have the water heater in the garage. The only thing is he didn't know all combustion equipment located in garages MUST BE 18 INCHES ABOVE THE GARAGE FLOOR! Double Yikes!!
I may have prevented an explosion yesterday, and now the seller is that much the wiser. But this could have ended in disaster.-Ray
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