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Whether it's a cardboard box, plastic bucket or any other combustible container you have a recipe for danger! Hot embers within the ashes are insulated from their surroundings and can stay hot for days. When the container the ashes are in is exposed to even a small amount of moving air, the embers can reignite and, given fuel to burn, a fire can flare up.
In the case noted at the outset, the cardboard box ignited. The box had been placed directly beside a can of gasoline, which, pardon the pun, added fuel to the fire. Other items within the garage then caught fire and smoke began entering the occupied home. When the occupants smelled the smoke, they followed the source to the garage. Here is where the second mistake was made. Though there were numerous items within the garage that were combustible, after the initial flare up, the fire had used up all of the oxygen in the garage. Although smoldering, it was contained, and the proper thing to do would have been to call the fire department and exit the home. However, one of the occupants opened the garage door, which allowed the oxygen within the home to feed the fire. Thankfully, the fire did not spread to the interior of the home. However, with the open door, smoke and soot poured into the home. As a result, many personal items inside the home were damaged, and the insurance loss to the home itself was much larger. And it all started from a tiny ember hidden within improperly disposed fireplace ashes.
Similar fires take place quite frequently throughout the cold winter months each year, and they could easily be avoided. According to the National Fire Protection Association, proper disposal of fireplace ashes is as follows: "Allow ashes to cool before disposing. Dispose of ashes in a tightly covered metal container and keep the ash container at least 10 feet away from the home and any other nearby buildings. Douse and saturate with water."
Though homes can be repaired, and personal items can be replaced, many such fires take the lives of men, women & children each year! Please do not become a victim. Handle fireplace ashes responsibly, as noted above.
Jerry Quarles is a Senior Estimator with 10 years experience in the restoration industry. He is employed by Champion Construction Systems, Inc., based in Sharpsburg, GA. Please visit their website, http://www.championcsi.com, for information concerning the services they provide to homeowners facing fire, water or storm damage to their homes. Champion Construction is a family owned and operated company which began operations in 1970. They currently have two locations serving the metro Atlanta area.
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