[symple_googlemap title=”” location=”10300 block of Mira Vista Drive, Tustin, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
A homeowner using linseed oil to stain a fence accidentally set a fire that burned down his garage, the attic of his home and destroyed a car in the Tustin area Monday.
The fire was reported in the 10300 block of Mira Vista Drive in an unincorporated area near Tustin shortly before 9 a.m, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.
The homeowner had used the linseed oil Sunday to stain a fence and when he was done he threw the rag under his work bench. It spontaneously combusted this morning and began a fire.
Concialdi explained that “cotton rags smeared with linseed can self- heat to the point of auto-ignition when kept at room temperature for a period of just a few hours. No containment or external insulation is necessary … the reaction is enhanced by the availability of oxygen … enough insulation is provided by the overlaying rags.”
The man should have put his rags in a metal container with a metal lid, Concialdi said.
County firefighters with the help of firefighters from Orange, took nearly 45 minutes to contain the flames.
The damage was tabulated at $100,000 to the structure and $60,000 to the contents, Concialdi said. Most of the home itself was saved, although the roof was damaged by flames.
— City News Service