Technical Hopefully people can learn from my mistakes

Well guys my shop burned down friday night. I was draining the old gas out of my dads 37 chevy panel truck and did not realize our dearborn heater was just barely on. The vapors caught fire and i tried to put it out but there was nothing i could do at that point. Bottom line is i was too comftorable and not cautious enough and i hope some of you can take something from my experience. Me and my dad lost so much and its really hard to deal with and i hope nobody has to go through this. I apologize in advance for my dads car being a street rod but just wanted to show what it was before the fire, i took the picture of the car thursday and friday night it was charred. Also make sure you guys have the proper insurance on everything just in case because you never know. Luckily we have insurance and alot of it should be covered. But its the old sentimental things that are really heartbreaking


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Man,that's heartbreaking,regardless of the type of cars lost. HRP

 

Man o man. Sorry for that.

 

Dang. At least you guys are ok.

 

Glad you made it out ok, looks intense. Rebuild it better

 

That's just terrible glad no one was hurt. Hope you have good luck with your insurance company.

 

I am very sorry for your (and your dad's) loss. Things like that can happen literally in a flash. I am glad no injuries to you or your dad.

 

Thankyou guys. Its just scary how fast it went up, within a minute the car was engulfed, after 5 the entire shop was


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Glad you had insurance and everyone is ok.

 

Feeling sick...sorry

 

We have USAA and always have been treated very well so were hoping it goes smooth


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So sorry. A real wake-up for all of us.

 

Damn that's bad.Surprised your oxy/acet tanks didn't blow,that would be a bomb.Glad ya'll are ok.
That was a nice panel.

 

Oh man that sucks but at least you didn't get hurt.

 

Man, that's gut wrenching! Sorry to see that, but you're right; I need to check my coverage!

 

Count yourself a Lucky man....my shop burned 10 years ago.lost everything including 6 cars..The Oxy/Acty.tanks were ruined but did not explode..I;m 5 miles from town and only a volunteer fire dept.
In an old tin building non insurable ,at least that a normal person could afford. fire inspector never found a cause

 

Aww man, what a damn shame. Thankfully no injury's though, & 'stuff can be replaced. I'm always on my sons (welders) about how careful you have to be when working indoors. Way back, I got to see what 5ga of lacquer thinner looks like just before it goes off.

 

I'm glad you guys are OK! The stuff can be replaced. Like "Too Many Fords" says, build it better!! Good luck!

 

So Sad...I know that was hard to talk about and post, my heart goes out to ya. Hope the best for the future.

 

Looks like your sprinkler system didn't work.

 

Wow - Thanks for sharing - bet that plenty of shops have heaters running in closed up shops - must way heavy on you for what happened - but, that is what accidents are all about - just takes a moment for things to go horribly wrong - have a friend that had a Hot Rod repair shop, which was burned heavily along with a customer's car - car was running wrong , in part due to problem carb - decided to drain gas contaminated oil , while using a standard drop light with standard light bulb - turns out that there was a lot of gas in oil pan that shot out and hit drop light - luckily he had carpet under car that helped contain gas flow - luckily too that he was laying on a piece of carpet - because a friend had just happened to stop by shop at that exact moment and pulled him out from under car - it always could be a lot worse.

 

Damn Wesleyan that is terrible so glad you and Dad didn't get hurt. A buddy had a very similar experience a few years ago it is sobering how fast things go south. Good luck with the recovery and stay safe
Joe


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We were just set up for disaster, the we had tons of stuff that we have collected over the years. Me and my dad are both hoarders, my dad 56, im 18. But we had shelves of spray cans, 3 propane tanks that blew, 2 five gallon cans of diesel, 3 five gallon cans of laquer thinner, whole cabinet full of paints, hardeners, reducers, etc. lots of bullets that were going off, small camping propane tanks that were blowing. Oxy fuel rig was in back and didnt go off. Our mig and tig bottles just melted the hoses so they just leaked out. But PLEASE use proper storage for flammable materials. You never think anything of it till it happens to you. I really would just like to share all of this to raise peoples awareness and maybe save someone elses shop!!! Ive noticed there are not a ton of kids on here and mostly very experienced hotrodders so i know as a kid im not going to be able to teach someone but maybe just open your eyes a bit! Thankyou all again


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A hard lesson to learn, but glad that you' re ok. Thanks for sharing, if it prevents one incident it's a big plus!

 

Was the sprinkler system inoperative?

 

That sucks. But living 3 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and living through Andrew, Katrina and Rita. You find out it is all just stuff. Stuff that might mean a lot to you. But it is still just stuff. Thank God that was not an attached garage. Just take one day at a time.

 

Good reminder to be safe. Sorry for your losses.

 

damn, enough to make a grown man cry, sorry for the loss.

 

That is just sad, luckily you guys are ok. Hang in there and stay the coarse, I know you will work it out.