Your garage has a hazardous collection of tools, chemicals, vapors, and heat sources. To the unsuspecting, it could be an accident waiting to happen. To stay safe:

- Maintain your tools and equipment -- they'll be safer and easier to use.
- Store gasoline cans only in well-ventilated areas away from cars and lawnmowers - preferably in a detached, lockable shed. The heat from the engines could ignite the vapors.
- Keep the garage clean orderly, and don't keep piles of papers in the garage -- they pose a significant fire and trip hazard.
- Hang up oily and chemical-soaked rags instead of putting them in a closed container.
- Install a smoke detector
- Install a carbon monoxide detector -- your car is one of the biggest producers in your home.
- Keep an ABC- or BC-rated fire extinguisher handy, especially if your junction box is in the same room.
- Use electrical outlets with ground-fault circuit interrupters to reduce the risk of electrocution.
- Install a safety sensor on the garage door to reopen it if it hits something.
- Store pesticides and other poisonous chemicals in a locked cabinet at least four feet off the ground.