A fire broke out late Monday night at Ashby Lumber when rags used for wood-staining caught on fire.
At approximately 9:37 p.m., bystanders from a business across the street noticed that a fire had broken out at 824 Ashby Ave. The bystanders then called the Berkeley Fire Department, which responded by sending three engines, one truck, one paramedic unit and a battalion chief to the address.
Gilbert Dong, the department’s deputy fire chief, said that when the department arrived, the fire was coming from a stack of plastic buckets next to the building. According to Dong, the first engine on scene was able to extinguish the fire in a matter of minutes, and the interior of the building did not experience any damage.
Upon further investigation, the fire department discovered the fire was caused by an employee who had been doing wood-staining, a process in which wood is colored or varnished, and disposed of the rags in a plastic bag.
The rags caught on fire because, according to Dong, staining products can self-ignite because they contain oils made from linseed or flaxseed, and when they break down they produce heat that can cause the material around them to catch on fire.
The rags the employee was using to stain the wood caught on fire approximately four hours after he used and disposed of them, Dong said, and because the incident has been classified as an accident, the employee will not be charged with any crime.
Dong added that these kinds of fires happen frequently. Another fire occurred last week at the 1100 block of Oxford Street after a mop used for wood-staining ignited and damaged the wood siding of a house.
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