Local company loses their warehouse to a fire caused by oily rags

The Santa Ana warehouse of the Red Hill Construction company, located at 1431 E St Andrew Place., caught fire on Thursday morning after rags soaked in a wood-staining chemical spontaneously combusted overnight, according to the O.C. Register.

Thirty Orange County Fire Authority firefighters arrived at the scene at 7:11 a.m., and extinguished the fire.  The fire caused $150K damage to the building and $200K damage to its contents.

Unfortunately the warehouse, several vehicles and most of the equipment inside was destroyed by the fire.  The building will also need a  new roof.

These types of fires are common.  The solution is to store the oily rags in a special waste bin that prevents spontaneous combustion.

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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