Oily rags start garage fire

A pile of oily rags caused a fire in a garage which mysteriously put itself out.

The Papamoa and Mount Maunganui fire brigades were called to a house on Riviera Court about 7.35am today.

Mount Maunganui fire senior station officer Lindsay Nicol said a pile of oily rags which had been used to oil the wooden floor were left in the garage and spontaneously combusted starting a large fire.

Mr Nicol said the fire was so hot it melted aluminium on a nearby towel rail.

The fire had self-extinguished when fire fighters arrived although the fire had begun to burn a pile of interior doors.

"There was still a wee bit of smouldering going on but the fire had basically self-extinguished and I'm not quite sure why," he said.

The house was severely smoke logged but the damage could have been a lot worse, he said.

Spontaneous combustion of oil soaked rags was a reasonably common occurrence due to the chemical reaction between the oil and the rag, he said.

"If you are using oil do not bunch the rags up and leave them," he said.