PDA

View Full Version : Dont Blow Yourself Up



Brent Leonard
09-05-2009, 5:02 PM
My neighbor blew himself up today. (for real, no joke)

He had an extremely large brush pile, comprised of some medium sized trees and such. The pile was probably 20' high.
He dowsed the pile with 5 gallons of gasoline, stood next to the pile and lit a match.

I was in my shop, a good 200 yards from the explosion when it happened. The blast rattled the windows, literally. I thought an airplane or something crashed in the school football fields behind our property. That is how loud it was. Not ever being in the military, I have never heard/felt an explosion that loud.

He made it to the front of his house, between 100 & 200 yards from the pile, where he called 911 himself. Story from the other neighbors was that he collapsed after making the call. The fire department, ambulance and sheriff arrived, and he was taken to the ER. Apparently his arm was burned somewhat badly and his face/neck were bright red from the blast. Hair was singed pretty good too I guess. They (paramedics) were concerned that his lungs may have been damaged from the heat entering his lungs.

All this I got from the other neighbors who ran over there when they saw him. Immediately after the explosion, I went looking and saw three men WALKING toward the house from this MASSIVE fire, so I just figured everything was OK, realizing it wasn't when I heard the sirens. They think he will be ok.

Moral of the story:
Don't use gasoline to start a fire. It seems common sense not to use that much, but I am guilty of using very small amounts myself when burning leaves and tree-limbs out of frustration in getting keeping a good fire going. Fireman said to only use kerosene or deisel as an accelerant.

Update:
ER in Topeka, flight-for-lifed him to KU Medical in Kansas City. Apparently worse than we all initialy thought.

Ted Calver
09-05-2009, 5:27 PM
Years ago my dad was burning out stumps at the summer camp in Canada. He would saturate the stump with gas and stand back and toss a match onto it to light it. It worked ok until one stump that had a hidden hollow spot in it for the gas to collect. When he lit it, it exploded and blew him 20' feet into the lake with a dislocated shoulder and minor burns. I second the moral of Brent's story....Don't use gasoline to start a fire.

Greg Cuetara
09-05-2009, 6:38 PM
A few years ago when I was in high school my next door neighbor decided that he needed an accellerant and found some methanol in a 55 gallon drum in the garage. Not quite knowing that methanol burns clear. Well the fire was not going very well and he filled up a milk jug and dumped the jug of methanol on the ashes. Fire went up the stream and blew up the jug in his hand. Almost blew his hand off and he had 3rd degree burns over 90% of his body. Luckily my father knew what was going on because when this guy came running around from the back of his house you couldn't see any flames...because the methanol burns clear....so my dad got him on the ground and at least stopped the flames by the time the paramedics arrived.

Your advice is good....never get a fire going with gas etc....

Jim O'Dell
09-05-2009, 7:07 PM
Yep, that's what charcoal lighter is for. :rolleyes: (yes, I know there are dangers with charcoal lighter too. Never, EVER, put charcoal ligher on coals, then throw a lit match at it. Big time flash!!!)

Don't know if I've told this story here before, if so, please excuse my memory.

When I was in Jr. College, I took some automotive classes, mainly out of interest. In the fuel systems class, the teacher, Bill Pfieffer, was telling everyone how liquid gas does not burn. It has to be in a vapor form to burn, and that's what a carburetor and fuel injection system do to the liquid gas to burn in the cylinder. Well, one poor kid, who probably shouldn't have been in the class to start with, just wasn't understanding. After about 30 minutes, probably wasn't that long...just seemed like it, Mr Pfieffer, in frustration, said, " Look, you can take a 5 gallon can of gas, light a match, throw it in the gas, and the match will go out." A confused "Oh....ok" came out of the kid's mouth, and the class went on.
The next morning when Mr Pfieffer came into the class, the kid pipes up, "Hey Bill....you was right. I took a 5 gallon can of gas, lit a match, threw it in, and it went right out!!!!" I thought the teacher was going to have a heart attack right there. I'm sure he could see law suits against him and the college over some kid blowing himself up.

The moral to all of us is; anything liquid that burns, is much more volatile in an enclosed environment. Doubly so if it is in a vaporized state. Don't just use caution doing something you shouldn't do, JUST DON'T DO IT!! Jim.

Paul Ryan
09-05-2009, 7:59 PM
I saw a guy burn the heck out of his lower legs last weekend doing the same stupid thing. He put too much gas on the rotted wood and tried to light it with a match. I dont have problems using a little "girl scout water" to start a fire, but it needs to be in moderation like just about everything. If I can't get enough of a fire out of about 2 cups of gas, it ain't worth startin. You just have to be careful. 5 gallons is way too much for a fire you have to start with a match.

I hope your neighbor pulls through.

Karl Brogger
09-05-2009, 10:33 PM
Moral of the story:
Don't use 5 gallons of gasoline and stand by with a match to start a fire.

Fixed it for you. http://www.supermotojunkie.com/images/smilies/thumbup.gif

I love tales of Darwinism. Gasoline in large quanitities explosive?! No kidding?!.... [sarcasm]

Steve knight
09-06-2009, 2:21 AM
what they don't realize is the gas vapor is flowing along the ground. so when you light it even if you are away you may be in the fume zone and whoosh your on fire.

David Freed
09-06-2009, 5:14 AM
I agree that gasoline is dangerous, but that is what I have always used to start brush fires. One thing that nobody has mentioned is using a fuse so you aren't close when lighting it. I will pour some gas on a brushpile and then keep pouring on the ground as I quickly walk away. If there is any breeze, I always walk upwind. The last one I lit did make quite an explosion and fireball. It was a hot, calm day. I probably used a little too much and the fumes accumulated around the pile before I lit the fuse. My wife said it shook our house about 100 yards away. I was standing back watching the show.


Mr Pfieffer, in frustration, said, "Look, you can take a 5 gallon can of gas, light a match, throw it in the gas, and the match will go out."

Years ago I had also heard that you could put a match out in gas. I tried it using a pan with a small amount in the winter when it was 10*. I tried numerous times and the matches went out every time.

Michael Wetzel
09-06-2009, 7:34 AM
Smart people use kerosene to get stumps, brush piles, etc started..

Matt Meiser
09-06-2009, 8:28 AM
Diesel works too.

Mike Cutler
09-06-2009, 8:30 AM
Smart people use kerosene to get stumps, brush piles, etc started..

Exactly.

Brent
I'm sorry to hear about your neighbor, and I hope he recovers fully.
We become very desensitized to gasoline in the US, partly because we have to handle and pump this volatile substance everyday. We just don't realize the consequences.

A long time ago, in a life far, far away. The USN sent me to "Bomb School". We messed around with C-4, Dynamite, Det cord, shape charges, layed minefields, etc. Then the E-9 that ran the program showed us what could be done with gasoline.:eek: Holy moleys Batman, what an impressive display, and he wasn't using very much at a time.

Rich Engelhardt
09-06-2009, 8:49 AM
Hello,
(No offence intended)
Smart people know how to make a fire w/out using fluids....

Impatient people use fluids.

Even K1 and diesel can form an explosive fuel/air mix under the right conditions.
ANFO for example is fertilizer and fuel oil.

However - being the impatient type, I usually use a fluid on charcoal.

Never gasoline though.
IIRC, a gallon of gasoline has the same explosive potential as 20 sticks of dynamite.

What's ironic is that often people will comment about my having ~ 20# of smokless power sitting on an open shelf and how "dangerous" that is.
They think nothing of storing a 5 gal can of gas in an attached garage though where temps climb into triple digits.
Go figure.

Dennis Peacock
09-06-2009, 8:52 AM
In my military days, which also included fire fighting training because when you deal with explosives? You need to know about fire control and suppression, we were taught how to fight various chemical fire and such and Gasoline was one we were taught on. We all had to light a match and put it out in an open container of gasoline just by clearing all the fumes and then immediately tossing a lighted match into the fuel. The match did in fact get put out each time. Then we had to allow the fuel to sit for about 20 seconds and toss another match in there but from a distance of about 10 feet. Flames immediately erupted and came very near our feet at almost 10 feet away from the container. This is the time when the fumes made the gasoline appear to be burning in the container. It was then extinguished with a good chemical extinguisher.

On another note, a friend of mine cleared a 40 yard square brush pit in his pasture one day when he put 5 gallons of gasoline on his brush pile, forgot the matches, walked to the house and got said matches, came back, struck a match and tossed it into the pit of brush. An explosion ensued because the pit contained most ALL the gas fumes from the 5 gallons of gasoline. After he got up off of the ground...he found an empty burn pit and all his brush needed to be gathered up and put back into the burn pit for burning later on.

Very explosive it is.....please use only diesel fuel, kerosene, or even mineral spirits to start fires with. Be safe out there....please??

Brent Leonard
09-06-2009, 9:37 AM
In retrospect, when I have used VERY SMALL amount of gasoline.....

I found it to be a terrible fire starter. It burns off too quickly to actually start alot of materials on fire.

I just see no need to use any amounts of it ever again for a a fire starter. My shed will soon have a jug of kerosene or diesel in it.

Matt Meiser
09-06-2009, 11:46 AM
Diesel or kerosene soak into whatever you are burning. Makes getting a bunch of green brush started in my experience.

David Freed
09-06-2009, 11:48 AM
I learned how explosive gasoline is when I was very young. I would go with my dad to kill groundhogs that were eating his soybeans. Groundhogs will have from 2 to 7 or 8 holes that connect underground. My dad would pour a quart of water down a hole followed by a cup of gas. The water kept the gas on top so it would evaporate and not soak into the dirt. He would then cover the hole with dirt and go to the next hole and do the same. At the last hole is the one he would light. He would clear away any debris (possible shrapnel) from around the hole and check which direction the hole was pointing before lighting it. By this time most of the gas had evaporated. Many times it was literally an earth shaking explosion. The angled hole worked just like a gun barrel. Any dirt or debris that was blown out of the ground was shot away from where he was. He always made me stand at a distance before lighting it.


Smart people use kerosene to get stumps, brush piles, etc started..

My point of view is - Ignorant people should not handle dangerous substances. You will notice I didn't say dumb people. There are lots of people that are extremely smart, but don't have a bit of common sense. In all of the stories told in this thread where sombody got hurt lighting gas, the injured person was standing close by when they lit it. That makes about as much sense as lighting a stick of dynamite with no fuse. It is common sense that if you don't respect explosive substances, you will get hurt. A tablesaw in itself isn't dangerous. The unsafe use of it is what hurts people.

With all that said, I am not trying to argue that gas is better for starting fires. Diesel or kerosene is better than gas. I just don't keep any on hand.

curtis rosche
09-06-2009, 1:05 PM
i dont see why people would try to use gasoline. you know it explodes in your engine. you know that it is what makes the huge explosions in movies. also it doesnt work to well for starting fires, it burn off to quick to light much

Stan Johnsey
09-06-2009, 9:37 PM
Gasoline is an excellent fire starter . . . you just need to have your brain engaged while using it, kinda like a table saw.

Neal Clayton
09-07-2009, 1:42 AM
what they don't realize is the gas vapor is flowing along the ground. so when you light it even if you are away you may be in the fume zone and whoosh your on fire.

a cousin of mine worked at the BP refinery in texas city that blew up a few years back, and that was what got them. leak due to faulty pressure control, if i remember correctly, and the fumes were everywhere. the two guys that set it off were in a truck, drove up in the yard and turned the key...truck didn't turn off, it kept running. from what he said one passenger in the truck realized what was going on and made a run for it, the other one was basically vaporized inside the truck.

Brad Wood
09-07-2009, 9:31 AM
Diesel or kerosene soak into whatever you are burning. Makes getting a bunch of green brush started in my experience.

yep.

whoever it was above that said that impatient people use fuel apparently hasn't tried to light a brush pile of green yard debris after it has been raining.

Cliff Rohrabacher
09-08-2009, 9:08 AM
five gallons to get a brush pile burning?

What's wrong with that picture?

Prolly could have got it going just fine with maybe a couple of squirts of fuel - even if there was lots of moisture present.

Gasoline is not the best anyway cause it burns off too fast.
Alcohol is better by far because it penetrates and bonds with moisture and brings the heat of the flame into the wood.

Diesel is better still because it's slower burning.

But best of all is Liquid Oxygen. Pour a few gallons on the brush pile and toss a road flare in from maybe 30 feet away or more.

The fire might last all of fifteen seconds and the fireball will be beastly huge.

Brent Leonard
09-08-2009, 9:56 AM
Update:

Neighbor is in critical condition with no prognosis. He is in the ICU in a drug induced coma and on a respirator, for a minimum of 20 days.

His lungs were damaged from the heat. Apparently your lungs are like tissue paper in reagard to flames and/or extreme heat.

A stupid, ignorant mistake, that quickly can cost you your life.
It must be hard on his wife and 8 year old little girl......