A Summer Firepot, a ‘Safe’ Label, and Two Life-Altering Explosions

New York Times ^ | June 11, 2011 | DAVID M. HALBFINGER

[livius]

Sterno was my first thought, too. Because alcohol seems to burn without much of a visible flame, you could never be sure it was lit unless you waved your hand over it and felt heat.

This one is odd, because evidently the substance wasn’t provided in a finite quantity in a little can, like Sterno, but you had essentially a jug of Sterno and could slop more of it on any time you wanted to. Not a good idea.

[hiredhand]

That’s the ticket... DDT! :-) LOL! :-)

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***PS, NEVER pour volatile liquid fuel on a lit fire!****

True, but you should NEVER pour fuel such as kerosene or lamp oil on a smoldering fire. The oil vaporizes and when a flame does start it will flash just like you poured gssoline on it.

[soycd]

>but the quart bottle of fuel he was pouring instead burst into flames.

Not all by itself it didn’t. Pouring flammable liquids or gels into a burning or very hot container will get you in trouble
fast. Maybe some people need assistance handling energetic substances like in New Jersey where they won’t even let you pump your
own gasoline.

It’s not the lack of warnings on the stuff, it’s the user nearly every time.

[tet68]

It’s like pouring gasolene down a carb, not a good
idea as my boss learned when his whole arm went up
in flames.

DON’T DO IT!

[1010RD]

Somebody call the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We must ban these.

[RobertoMagnifico]

Get your citronella oil here:

http://www.essentialoil.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=citronella

[I see my hands]

"warnings that gave no sense of how dangerous they could be"

IT'S FIRE!

[Gilbo_3]

YOU giving out fire safety warnings ??? thanks fer the heads up...

[hiredhand]

YOU giving out fire safety warnings ??? thanks fer the heads up...

OMG... I just realized the irony in it! :-) LOL! :-)

[montag813]

Check. Added to my Zombie Apocalypse shopping list...

Me too! Consumer-grade NAPALM that also keeps biting pests away? AWESOME.

[null and void]

Now if they would only add a hint of garlic...

[null and void]

(insert back story here)

[Zhang Fei]

While I sympathize with the victims, my guess is that this resulted from user error.

[NFHale]

Hmmm I wonder how long before F-Troop tries to sell it to Mexican drug cartels as Poor Man’s Napalm, and blame it on American gun shops?

[hiredhand]

Ah...they’ll just yank the stuff off the shelves. :-) But I hear what you’re saying! :-)

[Squantos]

Yep.... Stay Safe.

[TCH]

[Gilbo_3]

are you implying that my beloved gubmint would double or even triple down on their gunrunner project ???

obviously you hate children, mejicans, and homo-bi-transgender people, and hope they all spontaneously combust like micheal jackson in a bad pepsi commercial...

[NFHale]

“...are you implying ....”

Pretty much, yeah...implying hell, I’m saying it outright!