LIVERMORE – Allicca Torres has done a lot of antiquing and staining in her days but never realized rags used to stain could spontaneously combust in an open box and start a fire. She learned it the hard way after a fire damaged her workshop.

Torres, the owner of Pineridge Scents Candle & Sign Company on Goding Road, said she normally gets up early and started coffee about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday and then heard a popping noise.

She thought maybe a neighbor was using a cap gun to scare off a bear that had been sighted in the area recently.

She let the dog out and saw flames coming from the window of her shop, which is away from the house.

She called for firefighters and the departments of Livermore and Livermore Falls were able to get the fire out before an explosion occurred, she said.

She had 800 pounds of petroleum and soy-based wax and 300 pounds of fragrance oil among other flammable products that she uses in making candles and signs in her shop, she said.

She and some workers had finished antiquing and staining about 100 boards Tuesday in preparation for making custom signs at the Blueberry Festival in Wilton.

They hung the signs up to dry in the house and workshop and put the paint thinner, stain and brushes back in the workshop. They put the stain-soaked rags in a large, thick, wax-coated cardboard box to be thrown out.

Usually, she would have thrown the rags, including old T-shirts, out right away, she said, but she was tired and thought they could wait a day for disposal.

“The box was open and wasn’t shut,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed that this could happen. I never realized staining rags would combust like this.”

She’s meticulous about her work process and safety, especially since she is a candle-maker, she said.

“I’m learning unbelievable,” Torres said.

Some of her supplies, wax and molds were destroyed along with her workshop, she said.

Luckily, she and workers had made many candles ahead and had brought them to a retail store, The Vintage Violet in Winthrop, in mid-July to sell so she still has a large inventory.

“I’m definitely still in business,” she said. “We actually have business loss insurance” that would cover a product that may have been ordered that was damaged or destroyed in the fire.

Wood has been donated to build a new workshop and she is accepting bids to have it built.

Livermore fire Chief Don Castonguay said about 20 firefighters responded to fight the blaze about 3 a.m. Wednesday. They managed to get the fire out quickly.

Rags used for staining, heat up and ignite, he said. Linseed oil is really susceptible to it, he added.

“The heat will build up and catch fire,” Castonguay said.