Lawn mower safety information often focuses on the dangers of the cutting blades, specifically in terms of people being run down and trapped underneath, or injuring themselves by manually dislodging debris while the engine is running. However, there is one aspect of lawnmower safety that is often overlooked; the risk of fire caused by hot engines or exhausts, or from faulty mowers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Vincent Gonzalez, a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, knows all too well the extent of the damage caused by a lawnmower fire; he had finished cutting his grass and put his Cub Cadet riding mower back in the shed, when five minutes later he smelled smoke.Upon investigating the source of the smoke, Mr Gonzalez realised his shed was ablaze so he tried to extinguish it himself.Unfortunately the fire had taken hold and he was unable to put it out himself, so the fire brigade attended and got the situation under control in 15 minutes.$100,000 worth of damage was caused to the shed and contents, which included the mower and thousands of dollars’ worth of Corvette engines.The heat of the mower had ignited grass clippings and other flammable materials that were next to the mower.Once Mr Gonzalez has a new shed, he will be sure to keep flammable materials stored safely away from where the lawnmower goes, and to let the machine cool down fully before it goes back in the shed.
A Texas man was saved by the actions of his neighbours, after they spotted smoke coming from the house.The elderly resident had mown the lawn and put the lawn mower back in the garage while it was still hot.It caught fire and would have burned the home down had quick thinking neighbours not spotted it and pulled the blazing lawn mower out of the garage, containing the fire and stopping it spreading.They also rescued the homeowner, who was flown to hospital for treatment.Carol Davis of Cayce, South Carolina, could have done with the same luck when her lawnmower exploded under her decking and set the house on fire.She was in the shower at the time, having just cut the grass, and would have not survived had she spent another two minutes in the shower.Dry grass around the lawnmower caught fire along with the deck, and destroyed her home.She was lucky to escape alive, and has been advised to clean all grass from her lawnmower and the area in which it is stored, as well as letting it cool down before putting it away; fire officials recommended spraying it with water to help the cooling effect.
Lawnmowers can also catch fire while in use, although this is a much rarer occurrence than fires started by lawnmowers being too close to flammable materials.One man in St Marys, Kansas, was lucky enough to escape unharmed when his brand new riding lawn mower caught fire while he was using it.Manufacturer John Deere is looking into the possible cause of the blaze, as the fire started spontaneously and the lawn mower was less than 24 hours old at the time.Two men in Odessa, Texas, suffered second degree burns to their hands and faces, one being less lucky and sustaining burns to the arms and legs, having been dressed in a t-shirt and shorts at the time of their accident.The two men, Jeremy Reyes and Ivan Arroyo, were working on a grounds maintenance project and started up their riding mower to back it out of the trailer they used to transport it.The fumes inside the trailer ignited as soon as the engine was turned on, and Reyes was on the mower reversing it.Arroyo quickly helped put out the flames that engulfed his childhood friend, but both men were badly hurt and needed extensive hospital treatment for the burns.
When using lawnmowers, especially those with a petrol engine, remember to be alert for tell-tale danger signs such as fumes, heat, and wind, all of which create ideal conditions for a fire, and always let your mower cool down before storing it well away from any flammable materials.