Services warned yesterday.

A Fire Service spokesman made the comment after reporting a Saturday blaze that could have endangered the Arts Centre at Dockyard.

Four vehicles and 12 firefighters responded to the call at 10.24 a.m. when smoke began billowing from the centre.

The spokesman said the fire erupted spontaneously from a rag soaked in linseed oil that had been left on a workbench. It charred a 12 x 12-inch area. "There was a lot of smoke,'' he said.

The spokesman said linseed oil in piled rags was particularly dangerous because "it's one of those oils that tends to break down and generate heat.

"If it's bunched up, the heat can build and build until it flames.'' From Friday through the weekend, firefighters answered four other calls.

Workman accidently started a fire among floor joists on Friday while working at F.C. Footwear on Church Street. The fire damaged a small area before being put out by the store owner.

Also on Friday at Cox's Hill, an electrical fire broke out in a home. It was quickly extinguished.

Four vehicles and 12 men responded to a call at 5 p.m. on Saturday on Spring Benny Road in Somerset.

A fire had broken out in the kitchen of a home. It was started by a pot of cooking oil left unattended on a stove.