Would your Darkroom area be considered a fire-hazard?

[chip j]

I have about 8,000 sheets of paper stored near mine.

 

[railwayman3]

Ordinary paper itself is not a great fire hazard.....it's no more flammable than, say, the timber framework and general contents of an ordinary house. More important are things like the electrical safety of equipment in the darkroom, and safe storage of any unusual flammable chemicals, like paints or solvents.

 

[AgX]

Stacked paper (as in books) forms about the highest fire-loading of what typically is found in private buildings.
BUT the burning rate of such is rather low. There also is few emission of flamable gas/vapour (though this can be discussed, especially on CO).
From the viewpoint of firefighting it should not be considered a extraordinary hazard.


From the viewpoint of personal safety anything combustible is a hazard...

 

[AgX]

As said above, keep an eye on electrical safety: ratings, fuses, contacts, cooling/ventilation. As a darkroom only is used at times a major switch setting off the whole room may be something to consider. As a fire alert.
As a small extinguisher in the room.

 

[Harry Stevens]

I was thinking about this a while back and have noticed how a lot of darkrooms are of a one door exit variety, I was looking at a plan of a community darkroom maze with several small rooms in and only one main exit, I personally would not use it simply because of what I see as a fire hazard. I use my kitchen as a darkroom partly based on the fact that I have a 2 doors and one which I keep the key in and opens on my to my garden. Best remember that most people who die in fires are killed by the fumes and not the fire.....

 

[BMbikerider]

I don't think of a darkroom being any more of a fire hazzard than anywhere else in the house. Mine is upstairs in the spare back bedroom and it is the same as a bedroom used as it is intended, with only one door in/out. What I make a point of though is to switch off all wall sockets AND remove the plugs when am not there. When I constructed my new one in this bedroom, I had to modify the wireing circuit a little to fit extra power points. Those which came anywhere near where there may be contact with water I fitted the external waterproof type to safeguard myself and protect against short circuit.

In older properties it is a wise move to ensure that there is a device that will cut off the power in the event of a short circuit. In UK all modern houses must have one fitted as standard when they are built to comply with building regulations, but in a mass of older places they go without.

 

[AgX]

What I make a point of though is to switch off all wall sockets AND remove the plugs when am not there.

The combination of both is redundant.

 

[AgX]

In older properties it is a wise move to ensure that there is a device that will cut off the power in the event of a short circuit. In UK all modern houses must have one fitted as standard when they are built to comply with building regulations, but in a mass of older places they go without.

You likely mean not a load breaker but a residual-current circuit breaker They are are more recent. Got installed here in the 70s.
Both act on "short circuits". But the latter only on circuits via the earth but including very low currents.
Whereas the former is to protect the wiring only, the latter has to protect a person over which that earth circuit is running.

Such device, but with really low threshhold(!*), should be installed in every home. As they easily act, best installed in several breaker circuits, not to lame a whole house. Such sure should best protect a whole darkroom, if there is as chance to access the main supply of that room otherwise at least the wall sockets.


*Here 500mA breakers have been placed which is way too much to protect a person.

 

[tedr1]

Emergency exit access is the issue I think rather than flammability. In some jurisdictions governing domestic property there are building regulations that mandate emergency exit access for rooms that are above ground level. My upstairs darkroom has a large window that allows exit onto the roof, which is not ideal, but would be adequate to save my life if the stairs caught fire.

 

[AgX]

I find it hard to imagine to get entrapped in fire in a home-darkroom during a session.

 

[removed account4]

not since i used up all my collodion back in 1997 !
my brick kiln sweat lodge of a studio/loft/building during a heatwave
made me extremely nervous, even though i had a ABCfire extinguisher.
i would suggest making sure all your wiring is ground fault indicated
and that you have a fire extinguisher that can put anything/everything out
and if you do collodion work, having it stored in something that can contain
a fire or explosion. nitrocellulose is extremely sensitive, and fumes given off by
burning nitrocellulose are toxic.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I have about 8,000 sheets of paper stored near mine.

That is a hellofalot of paper dude.

 

[Sirius Glass]

That sure is. Even if you have Denish on ignore.

 

[chip j]

Most of it is 11x14 PAL (EFKE), grade 1, that I got super-cheap.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Would your Darkroom area be considered a fire-hazard?

No​

 

[Wayne]

My darkroom would be a fire hazard if anywhere in the rest of the house caught fire, because the smoke and fumes would rise to my upstairs darkroom and I have to exit down the stairs and through the house.
However if my darkroom caught fire I'd only have to clear one doorway and I'd be home free. And if that was blocked I think I could dangle from my darkroom window and drop to the ground without breaking anything more than an ankle.

I worry about this happening not at all. I do unplug everything if I know I won't be working in there for weeks.

 

[Arklatexian]

I was thinking about this a while back and have noticed how a lot of darkrooms are of a one door exit variety, I was looking at a plan of a community darkroom maze with several small rooms in and only one main exit, I personally would not use it simply because of what I see as a fire hazard. I use my kitchen as a darkroom partly based on the fact that I have a 2 doors and one which I keep the key in and opens on my to my garden. Best remember that most people who die in fires are killed by the fumes and not the fire.....

When we built my darkroom, I included, in addition to the entrance door, a larger EXIT door as so that I would have no trouble getting the sink and base, as well as the dry-side cabinets and equipment in and out. Another reason for the second larger door was as an emergency (fire) exit, well marked as such with luminescent tape so it could easily be seen in the darkness and no, it does NOT fog my photo paper nor film when I am in total darkness. I taped Tri-X unexposed film to the tape on the door for 30 sec., then developed it. No exposure could I see. If building a new darkroom today, I would make no changes on design. A one door darkroom could easily become a death-trap.........Regards!

 

[Arklatexian]

When we built my darkroom, I included, in addition to the entrance door, a larger EXIT door as so that I would have no trouble getting the sink and base, as well as the dry-side cabinets and equipment in and out. Another reason for the second larger door was as an emergency (fire) exit, well marked as such with luminescent tape so it could easily be seen in the darkness and no, it does NOT fog my photo paper nor film when I am in total darkness. I taped Tri-X unexposed film to the tape on the door for 30 sec., then developed it. No exposure could I see. If building a new darkroom today, I would make no changes on design. A one door darkroom could easily become a death-trap.........Regards!

Edit: By the way, the "FIRE" door only swings outward.......Again Regards!

 

[silveror0]

I've had a small thermostatically-controlled wall heater in my darkroom for years, set to keep the room at about 68F. I recently started to go into the room one evening to get something and noticed the door handle VERY warm when touched. I opened the door to a blast of hot air and found the heater was stuck ON, and the temp was 108F according to the Kodak Process Thermometer hanging on a hook. Switching the thermostat to OFF didn't stop the heater; so - not wanting to take the time to determine which circuit breaker controlled power to the heater - I tried to pry the cover off and before I got it off the heater stopped. I left it that way and checked it frequently to make sure it didn't start up again until I could get an electrician to remove and discard the thermostat. I had to get some materials out of the room quickly that could be damaged by the heat, then set up a large fan in the doorway to suck the hot air out fast and into the adjoining room overnight. I called the next day for an electrician to remove the thermostat and toss it in the trash. When that was done, I asked him to install an ON/OFF switch in place of the thermostat, so I could control the heater manually only when needed and only when I'm in the room working. He'll return with a switch of his choosing soon to hook it up. The thermostat was installed by a handyman who built the darkroom I had designed and put the heater on its own circuit breaker; he was no longer available to help because he'd retired with back issues. The electrician said the thermostat was a very good one and was surprised that it had failed, but I no longer trusted it and it is now in its final resting place. I recall AA stating in his darkroom design comments that it's a good idea to have master circuit breaker box solely for the darkroom that kills ALL power to the entire room - a very good idea.

 

[grahamp]

My darkroom is in an exterior building. I have an opening window (blacked out) that can be used for egress. Not because fire is likely, but I live in earthquake country and it is possible the pocket door could jam.

 

[MattKing]

As it is our bathroom, I hope not.

 

[David Brown]

I have to admit that, prior to this thread, I had never considered being trapped in my darkroom by a fire. None the less, I do not think it will be a major concern as I build my next darkroom in the house I am remodeling.

My last darkroom was in a converted attic space over the detached garage. I went out there almost everyday, working or not, just to "check on things". My personal paranoia is water leaks, as I have had those in prior darkrooms! Of course, now that I am paranoid about it (and corrected my mistakes), no more water leaks.

The new darkroom will be in the middle of the house. It has one door, and it does have a window that opens into another part of the house that was an addition. However, I'm pretty sure that this window will be covered up, or it's going to be very hard to make the room dark!

No weird wiring, no unattended space heaters, no flammable liquids, no extended periods of not visiting the space. I'll be fine.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Would your Darkroom area be considered a fire-hazard?

No​

My darkroom has smoke detectors and a sprinkler system.

 

[Larry the sailor]

my darkroom is a big bathroom. I've got running water close to hand. On the other hand if the one door was blocked I really think I could make an emergency exit out the exterior wall if properly motivated, drywall some insulation and a couple layers of siding.

 

[faberryman]

Unless I spontaneously combust, I think I am okay in my darkroom.