A rake leaning in the wrong corner can send someone to the emergency room. A gas can shoved next to a lawnmower can turn a simple spark into a garage fire. Fire departments across the country keep responding to accidents that start the same way: tools tossed into garages and sheds without a second thought.
The problem sounds harmless, even boring. After all, who worries about a shovel or a hedge trimmer once the yard work ends? Yet fire officials consistently warn that careless storage of garden tools and equipment leads to preventable injuries and fires every year. The habit feels small. The consequences rarely do.
