What do you do about fire prevention where you store your tractor?

[repete]

We built the shop/garage separate for this reason. Professional build. Fire extinguishers are important and you need many more than you think. Fires don't conveniently pop up where you plan for them. For me, one near each entrance and one near the workbench. 10 pounders. Those little ones run out too fast to be of much use.

Agreed. Mount the fire extinguishers near the exit doors.

First get out, then look back to see if you can fight the fire. Most importantly, do not have the fire between you and the exit.

 

[/pine]

This time of year is bad for leaf litter etc...keeping leaves and combustible materials away from buildings is common practice around here after a wildfire scare a few years ago...

 

[SmallChange]

yet up to the point of the fire they were totally content with "half-assing" their electrical stuff because after all, it is only a barn

worse example was a house wired by their grandpa… it was wired entirely in lamp cord

Wow. Just, wow. If this isn't a study in the human condition, I don't know what is.

This has me trying to remember every detail of how the barn is wired, and whether I cut any corners anywhere.

And, on second thought, wondering how many of the rest of us are likewise trying to remember.

 

[SmallChange]

What kind of fire extinguishers should I buy? "ABC" powder?

 

[repete]

What kind of fire extinguishers should I buy? "ABC" powder?

The answer will be dictated by the type of fire you are trying to control. ABC is a good choice for general stuff but if you have electronics you may want to consider CO2.
If you have water in the shop, for class "A" fires it may be easy to put in a hose fitting with a 1/4 turn valve and a box on the wall for a garden hose and nozzle. Simple and you are not limited to a couple gallons in a can.

 

[SmallChange]

The answer will be dictated by the type of fire you are trying to control.

Right, I got that, but what type of fire will I be trying to control? In other words, in a barn with a tractor in it, what is likely to go wrong?

Electrical fires, it seems to me, rapidly become some other kind of fire. Electrical equipment is typically not flammable, and it only combusts because the electricity is powering it, not because it's fuel by itself. Then this either quickly burns out, or ignites something else. If it's fuel, lube oil, or solvents, then it's a liquid fire. If it's paper, cloth, or wood, then it's a solid materials fire.

Then, it's also possible I might start the fire in some other way, like using a grinder thoughtlessly. Again, it depends what my accidental ignition source actually ignites.

I'm really asking about small pole barns with tractors in them (and not, in my particular case, smoldering hay bales or other agricultural fire hazards). What kind of fire risk do we most deal with here?

So far, I (fortunately) have zero examples to build a case out of.

 

[repete]

Right, I got that, but what type of fire will I be trying to control? In other words, in a barn with a tractor in it, what is likely to go wrong?

Electrical fires, it seems to me, rapidly become some other kind of fire. Electrical equipment is typically not flammable, and it only combusts because the electricity is powering it, not because it's fuel by itself. Then this either quickly burns out, or ignites something else. If it's fuel, lube oil, or solvents, then it's a liquid fire. If it's paper, cloth, or wood, then it's a solid materials fire.

Then, it's also possible I might start the fire in some other way, like using a grinder thoughtlessly. Again, it depends what my accidental ignition source actually ignites.

I'm really asking about small pole barns with tractors in them (and not, in my particular case, smoldering hay bales or other agricultural fire hazards). What kind of fire risk do we most deal with here?

So far, I (fortunately) have zero examples to build a case out of.

Small Change, these are the most seldom asked questions but most necessary to understand. Kudos for bringing them forward.

At best you can only cover so much and at some point you have to settle for "best I can do". That is why I REALLY stress prevention is the best way to go, do not let fires start in the first place. In my experience most fires start in places that do not care about what I call housekeeping. Rarely do sparks ignite 2x4's, but they can ignite sawdust, rags, etc. Thinking about what your hazards are is key to mitigation of those hazards. Do not do risky stuff. I once responded to a fatal fire where a man was cleaning car parts with gasoline. We have likely all done it at some point, but very few of us would do it while sitting on a fireplace hearth to stay warm...

But back to your question, selecting the appropriate extinguisher can, has been, and likely always will be a challenge. Nearly every shop fire will involve A,B and C class materials and frequently D class fires. That is why about the best you can do is acquire an ABC rated extinguisher. Ideally you NEVER need that extinguisher because your place never catches fire. But if it does, with good housekeeping, it does not have an easy ability to use what the wildland folks call "ladder fuels", those fuels that lead to other fuels and keep the burn chain toward fully involved structure fires connected. Again, housekeeping.

You have me reflecting back on my days of fire inspections when I would find what most people would consider "little nit picky things". I will go back to what Gressthegreat pointed out, using a 18 gauge zip cord to handle a 1500 watt space heater under the receptionists desk. I would get hit with typical response of "it gets turned off every night and there is always someone in the office when we are open". Certainly I was not there to tell folks how to run their business, it is after all their business. It is coincidentally connected to the businesses next door though... When I was in a shop guys would give a "whatever" to the codes and I would occasionally just change the subject and ask them if they liked living in their community and they would frequently say yes and tell my what they enjoyed. I would then ask how they thought about living in X community and they would say "no way". I would follow it up with "you guys make widgets right" (for lack of other words here) and they would say yes. I would then ask if they had any competition in that "X" community and more likely that not they would say yes. My next thing would be to say "you know a fire in your business could possibly shut you down for an extended time and I suspect the business in that "X" community would know and dig deep to fill the orders you can no longer fill. If they take your customer base, and you like building these widgets, what do you think about moving to "X" community because that is where the jobs will likely be". Another good one was the missing knockouts in the electrical panel. It is not a big deal until someone sticks a finger inadvertently in the slot and contacts the buss bar inside. After that flash of time your business may possibly have a new owner and attorneys will make money. The next question asked of me is "where can I get the covers?" and I would respond at most any hardware stores for about fifty cents. The little hazards would likely disappear before I could write it down and everyone is happy and my mission accomplished. Sorry for the long story here but I just wanted to let folks know it was not my intent at that time to be the big authority with a hammer but rather to have a secure future for the company, its employees and hence the community.

I know, long post. But hey, my blood is fire engine red.

 

[5030]

If you are going to do stuff, do it per code as most codes were written as a result of a disaster.

I have no electricity in the machine barn, never have so not a worry and my shop was wired by a master electrician and is 100% to code. I have 2 of the large commercial dry chemical extinguishers in the shop itself. Heavy buggers too. Just had them recertified.