Had a paint booth fire last month at Martin's Collision in Akron

A guy left a solvent-soaked rag in a pile near the heater and it went up in about 2 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with rags spontaneously combusting after using acetone?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesley_fox929d agoProlific Poster

Man, that's smart. The water bucket trick works real well. I do the same thing but I add a little dish soap to break the surface tension. Helps the rags get fully soaked instead of floating on top. Also got a fire extinguisher mounted right next to that bucket. No excuses to skip the two-step.

harperschmidt9d ago

Got a dedicated metal bucket with a lid and filled it halfway with water. Every rag that touches solvent goes straight in there no exceptions. Had a close call myself a few years back with acetone soaked rags in a trash bag and learned the hard way. Also switched to using water based cleaners where possible to cut down on the risk entirely.