Fire safety in sheds

[BobL]

I had my bro rewire my shed to get rid of the old fabric covered wires and to remove the chance of a dry joint and sawdust setting the place ablaze. Once a year vac the top of the 40ft Oregon beams to get rid of the dust buildup.

Not many people would think of that. OTOH if it's that bad perhaps you should also look at improving your dust extraction ?

I also have a master switch that kills all power and use it when I vacate the premises at night.

Good point. I tend to only do this if I am going away but I should get into the habit of doing this on a regular basis.

I am also careful re using extraction when sanding ferris stuff on the disc.

Fire from grinding can be a serious problem. Somewhere I read that around 80 people a year in the USA set their clothing on fire using angle grinders. Worse still is when these people are wearing synthetic clothing - very nasty indeed.

Bucket of water under the dripping tap and a bucket of sand near the welding/grinding area.

Excellent point although I hope it's not considered as a replacement for a fire extinguisher.
I think of a bucket of water as more of anti-burn first aid treatment. The sooner the burn is placed under cold running water the better but while the running water is being reached the next best thing is a bucket of water.
SWMBO put me onto this after I accidentally a picked up a piece of hot metal and gave myself a cm wide blister across 3 fingers and thumb on my left hand that hurt for days so bad that I could not use it. Next time this happened (Yes it did happen again ) I stuck my hand immediately under cold running water and left it there for 20 minute and there was just a surface mark where my finger prints had melted, but there was no pain and no blisters.

When I get to it mount a firehouse external and mark on the door where the oxy/acetylene etc is located inside for the firey's if they should ever need to visit when I'm not here.

Very good. Even a notice saying that you have these inside a shed will help the fireys.

[Burnsy]

Found it

Is a mobile phone a direct line to the fire brigade?

Remember it is not enough to have the extinguishers they need regular inspection. You can do this yourself for the most part, check the gauge to see it it is still pressurised and in the green area, if a powder, turn it upside down and give it a shake.

I have three 1kg powder extinguishers and a blanket in my workshop.

[BobL]

Found it

Is a mobile phone a direct line to the fire brigade?

The line I was thinking of was a heat sensor that directly rings the fire brigade. Like the ones we had in the Glass Blowing class at Uni. Some of the moronic students used to get bored after about 30 minutes and point their torch up towards a ceiling heat sensor and that would call the fire brigade out. Building would be evacuated lots of wasted time etc. After a half dozen times this happened the torches were mounted in such a way that they could not be pointed upwards.

Remember it is not enough to have the extinguishers they need regular inspection. You can do this yourself for the most part, check the gauge to see it it is still pressurised and in the green area, if a powder, turn it upside down and give it a shake.

Good point!

[ian]

Hi Bob

an area not covered so far is ignition sources and control thereof

for example
rags used for finishing are stored in a sealed steel container or outside the shed

heat sources eg grinders and sparks from grinding are kept away from wood dust

ventilation -- to avoid the build up of an explosive atmosphere

[BobL]

Hi Bob
an area not covered so far is ignition sources and control thereof

for example
rags used for finishing are stored in a sealed steel container or outside the shed

Yep - quite important and this can go in the "Other" category

Heat sources eg grinders and sparks from grinding are kept away from wood dust

I was hoping this "Shed construction and fit out to suit activities (i.e. all metal bench for welding") would cover that aspect.

ventilation -- to avoid the build up of an explosive atmosphere

should be covered by "Adequate ventilation of flammable gasses"