My next door neighbor Vern had a catastrophe at his shop on August 3rd. Garage and 8 vehicles complete loss, 4 vehicles repairable. Thankfully insured, but hopefully enough coverage.. time will tell that tale. Vern suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his arms and back as a reward for his bravery in trying to quench the flames. with due diligence, he'll recover. Insurance inspector has speculated (along with Vern's observations) that the fire may have been caused by the lithium charging area. He pointed out a radio/charger, yellow in color, with known issues for ignition.

Damage to vehicles was mainly due to the fact that the vehicle keys were on a key board right beside the ignition point, making it impossible to grab them. Just putting this out there for info.. my key board is(much to the disliking of my insurance inspector) quickly detachable from the wall and as close to the exit point of building as possible. As of now, my chargers for cordless tools are not left with batteries in them, and soon will be in a metal cabinet. Be safe out there!

I've known Vern since he was a kid, smart, worked as a tech his whole life, opened his own place a few years ago. Work ethic that would put most to shame, most days are 10-12 hours for him, working at home keeps him close to family, very important to him. New shop won't be quite so close to the house though, plans are in the works to rebuild on the "back 40". He'll be out of work for a bit while this happens, if you care to contribute I'll drop the link below. You may have to copy and paste as I'm not very good at that stuff. Could happen to any one of us, I thank God every day for my good fortune.

[Fire] [Fire] [Fire]

James Pettengill
Owner/Technician
Bartlett Automotive
Bartlett, New Hampshire, USA

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