Fire

[barefooter14]

well yesterday I was doing some out in the field welding on a dumpster. Now this job was for a family friend who does big canvas repairs ect. so thats what the dumpster is for. It was already flipped over when I got there and he said he had just cleaned it out, well that was a bit of a mistake.

now this thing is rusted out like you can not believe while cutting (with oxy/fuel) out the bottom so I could put the new one in I started smelling something burning so I stopped right away looked around the area and my hoses/tanks, then I looked into the dumpster and there was a little bit of canvas in there still that caught on fire, it wasnt a big deal being that it was inside a steel dumpster but it sure did get my heart rate up a good bit being that this is the first fire issue I have ever had in 3 years now.

anyways I had my fire extinguisher handy right next to me and a bigger one in the truck as a spare. I was able to put it out in less than 20-30 seconds from when I smelt the burning of something other than the metal.

Its just a reminder when you are heading out on to a job to always have a fire extinguisher and plan together just in case. you can never be to safe.

[Boostinjdm]

Why would you put it out? Unless it was a really big piece of canvas I would have let it burn. Don't have to worry about it re-lighting then.

[barefooter14]

Well it was letting off some nasty smoke and odors and his neighbors were outside, so as soon as it was out I was able to continue working with no more fire.

[Broccoli1]

Also a reminder for the person doing the work to inspect the area/item and not rely on someone else's word.

[barefooter14]

That was the main thing that I personally learned and luckily it was no big deal but I know not to make that mistake again, because next time it could be serious.

just thought I would share to help keep this as a fresh reminder for everyone else.

[Broccoli1]

happen to me with a trailer

" yer all good"

drive off and wham, he didn't crank up the jack all the way, bent the crap out of it at the drive way dip

My fault really, my job to inspect the trailer, connections before i drive off

[farmshop]

Just like pa said If you want something done right do it your self cause someone else will f it up

[DougAustinTX]

During these prolonged droughts here in Texas, I have found myself standing in fires of my own making while welding in the yard. I usually notice it when the smell of burning grass becomes overwhelming. Luckily, I haven't given myself a "hotfoot"...yet.

[mb_welder]

that oil/sawdust fuzz is pretty bad as well; it goes up faster than you can blink.

[A_DAB_will_do]

Was working on engine mounts for a big chipper last year. Laying under the machine, welding some channel in to stiffen the frame around the engine mounts. I smell smoke, and feel heat. Not intense, just a warm breeze.

Yes, the ground I was laying on was on fire. Seems no one thought to mention that the day before someone had been working on the diesel fuel lines and just spilled diesel on to the ground under the machine....

I smothered the fire out with my fire blanket and welding gloves. No harm, no foul. Laid some wet 3/4" plywood overtop the ground and had someone stand fire watch for the rest of the welding.

Take nothing for granted and assume that someone is out to get you....

[weldbead]

i stopped welding one time and saw some strange light..goddam ad hood, i thought to myself.. it was my pants burning...........

[Martini]

I had to do a weld this winter in the engine room of the vessel we were working on. Im a greenhorn so the whole experience of being on the vessel is something new but then had to go into the engine room and weld a mounting bracket 16" above and open bilgetank with about a foot of diesel/oil in it that we had to cover. They do stuff like that everyday and we were safe about it using fireblankets, extinguishers, a firewatch guy overtop of me pointing an extinguisher at me, full hotworks permits and the like. kind of a cool experience in mt book although it was damn tight and unfomfortable in there.

[ncfh]

Fires suck...

Not long ago, a guy we know was dismantling a sign on the side of the interstate, he was up in the basket torching the rusted bolts from the bottom of the sign head. One of the red hot bolt heads fell right on a high pressure hydraulic line, spraying him with burning hydraulic fluid.

On fire, 30' in the air, he jumped.



About a year before we were doing a similar job along the interstate, except it was a new install. And the location was a few hundred yards up a very rough trail. They had to set the 30' sections of 42" pipe on the outriggers and four wheel up this crazy trail with 30t cranes. Anyway, the two crews get the tower erected, and the one crew takes off leaving my friend Bob and his crew to finish welding everything up.

So Bob is 60-70' up, welding away. His two green helpers on fire watch down below. The two geniuses decide this would be a good time to sneak off and smoke a joint. Never mind it's August, dry, and they are in a patch a tall grass, which starts on fire of course. Bob is still welding away, but finally notices more smoke and smell than should be coming from his weld, flips up his hood to find flames lapping at the stick below him, and his truck surrounded by fire.

He has nowhere to go, it's too tight to of a spot to boom out and set the basket down. So he starts screaming for his helpers, who are nowhere to be seen. Finally they appear, but Bob has no fire extinguisher on his truck. Bad Bob. Not like it would've done much. The two helpers beat back the flames with shovel fulls of dirt and welding blankets, allowing Bob to set down in the cradle.

And what does Bob do just as soon as the fire is totally out?

Takes the shovel and wipes the both of them out, packs up, and leaves! lol

Bus tickets and pink slips for the helpers.

[Xtreme Fabrication]

Originally Posted by ncfh

Fires suck...
So Bob is 60-70' up, welding away. His two green helpers on fire watch down below. The two geniuses decide this would be a good time to sneak off and smoke a joint. Never mind it's August, dry, and they are in a patch a tall grass, which starts on fire of course. Bob is still welding away, but finally notices more smoke and smell than should be coming from his weld, flips up his hood to find flames lapping at the stick below him, and his truck surrounded by fire.

He has nowhere to go, it's too tight to of a spot to boom out and set the basket down. So he starts screaming for his helpers, who are nowhere to be seen. Finally they appear, but Bob has no fire extinguisher on his truck. Bad Bob. Not like it would've done much. The two helpers beat back the flames with shovel fulls of dirt and welding blankets, allowing Bob to set down in the cradle.

And what does Bob do just as soon as the fire is totally out?

Takes the shovel and wipes the both of them out, packs up, and leaves! lol

Bus tickets and pink slips for the helpers.

I have a damn near same story with that. My customer issued fire watch employee knew quiting time was 4:00. I was on the last piece of a bridge. I was welding away and smelled something burning. 65' up in a JLG man basket, look down and 100' by 50' area of blown straw (damn errosion control guys) is off. Scream to my fire watch, SOB had pack up at left, it was 4:10. Never said a damn word to me he was leaving. Fly down and shovel the fire out (volly ff btw) call his boss and rip him a new one over it. Needless to say a 10 year employee of the company had a pink slip the next day when he showed up to work. Worst part was there was no one else on the entire job site. If I would have fell, who knows how long I would have hung from my safety harness until someone found me.