I thought it prudent to share some thoughts on shop fire threats, unfortunately first hand experience.
Earlier this summer, I locked the door and left my shop at 5:00 P.M. to go in for supper. At 6:00 a neighbor pounded on our front door and said there was smoke coming out of the building, fifteen minutes later the fire was through the roof. My 44x60x12 shop was completely lost in minutes. Three generations of tools and memories gone. I am still absolutely heartbroken.
A fire inspector was sent by the insurance company to determine a cause. He asked lots of questions and looked at every wire that remained. When all was said and done he had two theories on what may have happened. One thought was that a terminal screw in an outlet had over time backed itself out and caused an arc. The outlets were all surface mounted in steel handy boxes, seems like a stretch to me. I consulted a professional electrician who shook his head and said "I don't think so". The other thought was that re-chargeable batteries had failed and started the fire. The area were the fire apparently started did have a large wood cabinet with several drill drivers each with extra batteries.
Now, my understanding has always been that these batteries were a fire hazard while they were being charged. However both the fire inspector and an airframe and power plant mechanic friend have told me these things are now known to fail simply sitting on a shelf. My cordless tool batteries are now in a tote sitting outside and away from any structure.
Please be careful folks...
