Crime & Safety

Novato House Fires Provide Lesson on Oily Rag Disposal

Dry out your rags by hanging them up to dry or laying them out flat rather than wadding them up and throwing them in a confined space such as a trash can, fire officials say.

For the second time three days, wadded-up oily rags ignited and sparked a fire that endangered a Novato home, providing another learning point for the to reiterate to the public.

With warm, dry weather upon us, more residents are staining decks and using rags with combustible liquids, and they are either unaware or forgetting proper protocol with oily rages after their chores are finished.

About $13,000 in damage was caused Friday night when oily rags ignited on a deck on Lorraine Court on the city’s west side, according to Novato Fire Battalion Chief Mark Heine. On Wednesday, oil rags in a garbage can burst into flames next to a driveway Hillside Terrace in Black Point, endangering the adjacent house.

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Heine said the Lorraine Court fire was pinpointed to rags that had been used in staining the rear deck earlier in the day. The homeowner was using a garden hose to control the fire when engines arrived at 11:07 p.m., and it was midnight before the blaze was controlled, Heine said. The siding and eves of the house were damaged in addition to the deck.

Novato Fire Captain Phil Tripp said oily rags need to be laid out flat or hung out on a line so the oil can evaporate. That practice needs to take place whether you’re disposing of the rags or keeping them for later use, he said.

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“When they’re all wadded up, the oil breaks down figures of the cloth and it creates heat,” he said. “If it’s confined, that heat builds up and that’s how it spontaneously combusts. The heat feeds on itself and uses the combination of the oil and the rag to ignite.”

Tripp said there have been several major home fires in Novato over the years caused by a homeowner’s failure to dry out oily rags.

“We’re in wildland fire season now, so that combination can be very problematic,” he said. “It’s good for business, but that’s not the kind of business we want.”


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