October is more than just a month with a fun holiday. Yes, we all love Halloween, football and postseason baseball; but it’s also National Fire Prevention Month. For many homeowners and businesses, that means it’s time to evaluate for fire safety measures.
 
Fires in garages and home workshops are a serious matter. The typical garage contains a host of flammable materials:

• gasoline
• paint thinner
• wood
• sawdust
• greasy rags
• other heat sources like water heaters, furnaces

All of these things are highly flammable in the right instance. As with most things involving safety, maintenance is key.  Keeping your Cary garage door well maintained is critical. Having a garage door that doesn’t function properly can really make matters worse in the event of a fire. Also, keep your garage as fireproof as possible. Have the right equipment and make a habit of making the safest choices while you’re in your garage. Here are three steps to garage fire prevention:
Step 1: Establish Safe Routines
Developing safe habits enables garage fire prevention to become a routine.

• Cutting and sanding wood creates sawdust and wood chips. These small pieces of wood are much more flammable than larger wood boards. Sweep them up right away to eliminate the largest source of garage fires.
• After using paint, stain, finishing oils or solvents, seal the containers and store them in a safe place.
• When preforming Cary garage door repair maintenance, be sure to dispose of the oil or grease rags used. The possibility of spontaneous combustion is great when there are oily rags and/or heat sources in garage together.

Step 2: Practice Safe Storage

• Fires thrive from fuel, oxygen and heat. It’s important to keep these three things away from each other. Don’t store fuel in the garage if there is a heat source there as well.
• Keep all combustibles away from regular sources of heat or fire, such as water heaters, space heaters, furnaces and boilers.
• Store flammable products such as wood finishes, spray paint and paint thinner in a dedicated storage container behind the closed door of a closet.

Step 3: Buy Proper Safety Equipment

• Make sure you have smoke alarms in every room of your home. Also make sure there is a smoke alarm in your garage and in the room of your home that you enter from your garage.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in your garage.
• Make sure there are carbon monoxide detectors in your home and the garage.
• Consider installing a sprinkler system, or extending the sprinkler system from inside your house.

Garage fire prevention is important. If you don’t do anything to prevent fires throughout the year, at least make October your annual prevention month. Take these steps and get your garage ready for another fire-free year!
For questions concerning Cary garage door repair or if you are interested in purchasing new garage doors, contact Hanson Overhead Garage Door of Raleigh!