Fire officials share safety tips in preventing garage fires

(ABC 6 News) – Garage fires are one of the most common there are in households, and it’s important to remember steps both to prevent them as well as to keep those fires from spreading.

Fire officials say when it comes to preventing potential garage fires, it’s important to take a look at what you’re storing in your space and how flammable they could be.

"Gasoline, oil, cleaners, paint products, and then you add in a few heat sources whether it’s an engine from a car or especially from small engines, so think like chainsaws, weed trimmers, leaf blowers, lawn mowers," said Rochester Firefighter Isaac Molin.

Another possible fire source is overloading power sources, like plugging in multiple extensions or power strips to a plug-in or plugging in a charger to an extension instead of directly into a wall outlet, which is more secure.

"A really important thing to do is throw that rag, when it’s still wet, into a big pile cause those can combust, so that’s something you want to let hang out and dry before you throw it away," Molin said.

Officials say your best bet is to keep flammable objects away from heat sources; for example, storing them in an external shed or on a shelf would work.

Another tip not just for garage fires, but for any fire is to make sure to close doors. That will slow down the spread of the fire.