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International Automotive Technicians Network
Re: How not to start a fire
Posted to Technical Tips Forum on 12/5/2013

One of our shop helpers comes in at the end of our day shift, asks if he can use the shop torches, I said ok - but we have to leave soon, the night shift is coming in, don't take too long, and do it outside the shop, then we can all go - He brings in girl friend's car, to front of shop, sets it up on jack stands, crawls under the driver's side seat and starts welding with our shop welding torch, I stopped him and asked him what he was doing, he says he is welding up a rust spot in the floor - I go back in the shop to finish up paperwork, and I hear a kid yell " fire" ,I go back outside and see the smoke and flame coming out from under the driver's side seat ,got the extinguisher, put it out, turns out his girl friend had the habit of blowing her nose [allergies] and then would toss the old Kleenexes under the driver's seat and forget about it - the damage wasn't too severe, he took it back to her, but stopped somewhere and bought her one of those plastic catch all buckets buckets for the inside of the car - he was kidded about that for about a week -

Roger Rutledge
Technician/Shop Foreman
Riverside Landscape Contractors Inc
Brantford, Ontario, Canada