Posted on 10/12/2017 11:03:58 AM PDT by fella
A male found burned Wednesday in a Billings West End neighborhood apparently caught fire while filling a car with gasoline, according to the Billings Fire Department.
Firefighters were dispatched to Concord Drive and Birchwood Drive at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Jeff McCullough, deputy fire marshal.
It was still unknown Wednesday night how the fire started, McCullough said. The male was flown to Denver to be treated for his injuries, McCullough said. Neither the male's age nor the extent of his injuries have been released.
"I just know he was trying to go fill up his car with gas and next thing you know he's on fire," McCullough said. "And I don't know the details as to how or why." The incident remains under investigation, McCullough said.
There is a rather funny scene in “Zoolander” where this happens. But I guess in real life, it’s not so funny.
The problem started when the victim asked his friend for a match so he could see if the tank was empty.
The fire victim is good unless his family jewels got roasted.
I agree with you on the new gas can regulations that requires one to have 3 arms and hands to operate them. But in this case, I wonder if the guy was smoking a cigarette while filling his car from the can.
The picture shows a pre-obama can. It isn’t even scorched.
I usually use diesel to start fires. It is so hard to burn that you can pour it right out of the can onto a weak fire and actually put the fire out. But I always put a small amount in a can to limit any potential risk.
Well, one day I got carried away and just pulled out the FULL diesel 2.5 gallon plastic container and decided to pour some on to speed things up.
Except it was not diesel. It was gasoline.
Fortunately it was full so there was just a flame coming out the top. I could have just put my hand over it and snuffed it, but I panicked and threw that sucker into a flat area where it could do whatever it wanted. And all it did was burn to the ground.
I never, EVER just pour diesel directly out of the container any more. Cheap lesson. I lost a container and a couple of gallons of diesel. Could have been a lot worse.
Various stories lately about cell phones ringing while you are pumping gas. Fires follow.
Using a cell phone?
Is it true you shouldn’t talk on a cell phone or leave your motor running while you pump gas?
I went to a few people who burned a large percentage of their bodies in various ways over the years. The sad thing was on the way to the hospital when they were asking if they were going to die... we reassured them that they would be alright. But burns over a certain percentage, are nearly always fatal even these days... so sometimes we knew that their chances were very poor. Fortunately, severe burn victims often have their nerve endings burned and are sometimes not in as much pain as it would appear they would be. The “family jewels” are often missing all together... not something you want to mention out loud in front of them when doing an assessment.
Could be one of these odd static electricity events. Very rare, but can happen. I am sure the station has video.
The life of a smoker is always intense.
If the guy was filling that can up while on the trunk, like in the picture, there was no where for the static electricity to go. That is why there are signs telling people to place gas cans on the pavement.
Yes, due to the possiblility of an electrical spark that could ignite vapors and cause an explosion. The area around the pump when you’re filling a tank is considered a Class 1 Division 2 Hazardous Area, which is defined as where:
“Volatile flammable liquids or flammable gases are handled, processed or used, but the hazardous liquids, vapors or gases will normally be confined within closed containers or closed systems from which they can escape only in the event of accidental rupture or breakdown of such containers or systems, or as a result of abnormal operation of equipment.”
This is unlike a Division 1 area, such as inside an oil refinery or inside a storage tank, where the hazard is considered to be present all the time, and thus higher standards are required that either eliminates the potential for an electrical arc or puts the device inside an container that is either ventilated or capable of containing any explosion.
Spontaneous Human Combustion!
Did you read this story today? Absolutely horrific......
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