As I am being taught how to make buildings out of styrofoam, boxes, etc, one question has risen in my mind:
How do I keep these from becoming fire hazards? I have been accumulating many boxes and some styrofoam, but I havent been able to begin work yet because I dont have much money and the paints and stuff cost money. Keep in mind, through, that where I live the weather is at 100+ every day until October, and that I live in a house without AC.
Hmmm… that’s an interesting question. Since they have not yet magically combusted, I don’t think that they will suddenly burst into flames on you. After all, these are materials you find around the house anyway, right? That said, they definately would burn in a fire. I would simply have a fire extingisher handy, smoke alarms, maybe even a sprinkler system in the basement.
What are you going to do about the benchwork (wood) - the sub base (wood or pink/blue foam) - roadbed (Homasote or Cork) - Scenery materials (pink/blue foam - Ground Foam), Trees made out of Weeds or Ground Foam?
Plastic cars and engines?
Then having all of that electricity, soldering irons and wires all over the place?
Everything that we use in building a layout is flammable!!!
I guess you won’t be building a layout then!
If you take safety precautions there will be not any problems!
How many times have you heard on a layout burning up?
The ignition temperature of the materials you are talking about are all well above 400F. There is no danger of them spontaneously combusting in your layout area, even if the air temperature regularly reaches 120F. Dried paints and solvents do not have the VOC (volatile organic compounds) necessary for combustion, and tightly closed containers have both too high a concentration of VOC to support combustion and too little oxygen.
That said, if you do get an ignition source, some of these things will burn very nicely indeed. Make sure your layout area is free of things like oil-soaked rags and wood, cigarettes, fireplace ashes, bad electrical connections, and so forth. You really can’t eliminate the flammable properties of your layout materials (with the exception of plaster, everything on mine would go up like a torch if it ever caught fire). Good housekeeping practices will eliminate most of the risk.
Insurance underwriters identify the bedroom (for smokers) and the kitchen (for the rest of us) as the places home fires are most likely to start. If layout rooms are on the list, they’re so far down that I’ve never seen it.
“It’s your layout, only you have to like it.” Lin’s Junction
Tell me about it…I got all kinds of scales in my layout (since 1:600 is the only scale that has all major airlines in the world and I want every major airline in the world represented in my layout’s irport).
Plus it’s just a layout for me and my family kids-+ any of you who want to come visit me-to play with so…lol
A suggestion I am adding is that it’s an excellent practice to keep a fire extinguisher in your home handy, such as the Super K dry chemical series or a CO2 unit. Hopefully you’d never have to use it but it’s added insurance that, imho, is worth it.
One other possible ignition source just occurred to me (because I did it last night). If you’re cutting metal with a rotary tool (Dremel or equivalent) or a power saw, you will create little sparks, which are actually superheated metal filings.
Those WILL start a fire if they land in combustible materials, so be very careful when using these tools near your work area.
Having a working fire extinguisher in your home is just good advice, period.
We have several fire extinguishers in our house - a 14x70’ trailer, which if you don’t know, can go up just like that!
Have several smoke detectors and CO2 detectors as well on in one small single level home!
Just plain sense for any home to have one in the kitchen, one near any heat source- fireplace, furnace, woodstove, etc., one near or in the master BR with easy access, and one in the basment and one in a garage. Same goes for smoke detectors. Most smoke and co2 detectors you buy can last 10 years. Just be sure to change the batteries every Jan 1 or other day you remember well.
AS noted, the materials of your layout all have burning properties, but highly unlikely to ignite unless acted upon by an outside source of combustion, or if you had a sparking short or left something on to overheat. Living in a high heat area shouldn’t matter. If high heat were a firestarter, then lots of cars in the high temperature zones of he country sitting in the noonday sun would ignite inside as temps inside a closed car can reach 125* or more within MINUTES!! And At around 400* you wouldn’t survive!!
So you shouldn’t have to worry unless you have the mentioned short or are using hot or heat producing tools on it. Just keep an extinguisher rated for all types of fire {an ABC extinguisher I think they call it} and you should be fine.
The most famous layout fire I ever heard of was the GORRE and DEPHETED (spelling) shortly after it’s builder passed away. Fire hazards are a real concern. Since, as was already pointed out, nearly everything used in the construction of the layout is capable of supporting a fire, we need to eliminate some of the other requirements needed to have a fire. The easiest to control is the source of ignition. Many modelers have advocated a master on off switch or switches that cut all power to the layout and the room itself. The other thing we can do is to control things that could ignite from spontaneous combustion. Paint soaked rags etc should not be left in areas where they can ignite and start a fire. Flammable supplies such as paint and chemicals can be stored in a metal cabinet that seals tightly. There are many things that can be done to eliminate some of the risk of fire and excellent advice can be obtained from your local fire department regarding fire prevention.
Antonio: I worked for many years as a fire fighter and a fire dept Safety Officer. One of my jobs was to educate people on the importance of fire safety in the home. The ignition temperature of the items you listed is over 400 degrees. At that range many other flammable items in your home would ignite also. I live in a small trailer (8x25) and there are tons of paper, cardboard boxes, foam (sheet as well as spray cans), about fifty cans of paint and any number of flammable chemicals that you would find in many homes. In 2005 after hurricane Rita this area I was without power and the temperature in my trailer soared to the 140 degree range and maybe higher. The thermometer pegged at 140. There was no way I was staying here. I relocated to my parents home where it was much cooler as they were using a generator to at least keep their three refrigerators and their fans going. During that two weeks of no power and soaring temps nothing in my trailer was damaged by the heat. I had some water damage on the layout as part of the roof had been torn off but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Nothing caught fire, none of the paint cans showed any signs of stress. One of the cans of spray foam had split open but it was near empty. That was the extent of the damage. You have a much greater chance of being burned by powdered coffee creamer exploding near an open flame than you do of anything related to your layout catching fire in a 120-200 degree environment. Just take some sen
