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Tire bursts, killing store owner making repair
Fort Worth Star Telegram ^ | 06/04/2004 | Alex Branch

Posted on 06/04/2004 9:06:49 AM PDT by jtminton

FORT WORTH - The owner of an East Seminary Drive tire shop was killed Thursday night when the tire he was repairing burst as he worked in front of his wife and four children, police said.

The man, in his mid-40s, suffered severe head injuries about 7:45 p.m. as he worked in the parking lot of Texas Tires, 1245 E. Seminary Drive, police said.

"It was a really loud pop," said 10-year-old Tadea Rios, whose family was also having a tire repaired at the store. "It was so loud it was scary."

Friends identified the man as Abu Hassan, an Iraqi immigrant who owned the business for about seven years. They said he kept long hours, staying open seven days a week and working into the evenings.

"He was apparently using a torch to do some welding to the rim" of a tire from a trailer, said Lt. Gene Jones, a police spokesman. "Heat from the torch may have caused the tire to explode."

The rim was found about 25 feet away, Jones said. It was not clear what part of the tire caused the injuries.

Police led the man's wife and children, ranging in age from 10 to 17, back inside the business. Ministers who work with the Police Department came to counsel the family, he said.

Hassan was injured a few months ago when another tire burst, his friend Allen Yousef said.

"He is a great guy," Yousef said. "Very nice to everyone and all his customers.

"I just got call from someone who said, 'Your friend is dying over here.' It's so sad for his family."

Amar Sghyer said he heard the tire burst from his auto shop a half-mile away. He said working with tires can be more dangerous that some people think.

"I had this happen to me awhile ago, but I got out of the way just in time," he said. "It's terrible that this happened to him."

Hassan had moved here with his family from Basra, Iraq, Sghyer said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Branch, (817) 390-7689 abranch@star-telegram.com


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; US: Texas; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: fortworth; iraqi; terrorism; tire
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To: Conservative Renegade
This guy did work late hours. I saw him sitting out front late in the evening on several occasions. I wondered if there was enough business to justify staying open so late.

Ohhhh, your right! He was probably a terrorist!!!!!!!!

41 posted on 06/04/2004 10:13:00 AM PDT by stuck_in_new_orleans
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To: F.J. Mitchell
He was apparently using a torch to do some welding to the rim" of a tire from a trailer, said Lt. Gene Jones, a police spokesman. "Heat from the torch may have caused the tire to explode." The guy's dead, whether he died of carelessness or a freak accident doesn't make much difference now, except for what others can learn from it.

Not a freak accident. He died of being real stupid. Thank God no customers or anyone else was near this idiot when he did this.

42 posted on 06/04/2004 10:15:16 AM PDT by Joe Hadenuf (I failed anger management class, they decided to give me a passing grade anyway)
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To: BADROTOFINGER

Thats about the same as when I was stationed in Sicily, I was at a buddies house when we heard something outside, we went out to window and saw a teenager syphoning gas from my buddies pick-up. my buddy threw a beer bottle into the bed of the truck from the 3 floor balcony and the kid sucked gas into his mouth, never had problems with gas again.


43 posted on 06/04/2004 10:15:30 AM PDT by Docbarleypop (Navy Doc)
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To: spunkets
Probably, since it was a trailer. I don't think he was welding. He was probably using the torch to break some frozen bolt on the 2 peice rim. He may have had most of them off, the valve stem pulled, but there was that fix-a-flat in their that blew up since the valve stem was open and a gas/air mix still in there-exposed to the flame.

Sounds possible. I thought welding sounded kind of odd, too. Wonder if he might have been trying to re-seat it using the ether/gasonline method, but substituted acetlyene?

44 posted on 06/04/2004 10:19:45 AM PDT by tacticalogic (I Controlled application of force is the sincerest form of communication.)
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To: tacticalogic
"Wonder if he might have been trying to re-seat it using the ether/gasonline method, but substituted acetlyene?"

I doubt it. This is a modern shop and he's got a band to wrap around the circumfrence and tighten, which brings both beads in contact with the rim. With his soap and large CFM compressor, he'd have no problem.

Just a caution... Acetylene explodes at anything over 14psi, so it should never go into anything under pressure. The stuff in the tank is dissolved in acetone for that reason and the tank should always be upright when drawing from it-esle the acetone comes out.

45 posted on 06/04/2004 10:37:06 AM PDT by spunkets
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To: tacticalogic
Like a cop would know the difference. Stick and torch welding is becoming a lost art, when Lowes has a $200 MIG welder. I can see him using a torch to heat up a lug, or burn off a nut. Air heated to 1500 degrees is going to expand. Boyle's Law rides again.
46 posted on 06/04/2004 10:44:32 AM PDT by jonascord
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To: spunkets
Just a caution... Acetylene explodes at anything over 14psi, so it should never go into anything under pressure. The stuff in the tank is dissolved in acetone for that reason and the tank should always be upright when drawing from it-esle the acetone comes out.

I thought acetylene was stored that way because it would explode if it was allowed to expand too quickly. The pressure gauge on my acetylene tank says I have a lot more than 14psi of gas pressure in the tank

47 posted on 06/04/2004 10:46:58 AM PDT by tacticalogic (I Controlled application of force is the sincerest form of communication.)
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To: jtminton
"He was apparently using a torch to do some welding to the rim" of a tire from a trailer, said Lt. Gene Jones, a police spokesman. "Heat from the torch may have caused the tire to explode."

D'oh!

48 posted on 06/04/2004 10:50:01 AM PDT by mhking ("Enterprise" finale: Yeah, we saved Earth, but I hate Illinois Nazis...)
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To: jonascord
I can see him using a torch to heat up a lug, or burn off a nut.

I could see him doing that too, but the account of the rim being found 15 feet away didn't seem consistent with the idea that he was trying to get it unbolted when it blew up.

49 posted on 06/04/2004 10:51:19 AM PDT by tacticalogic (I Controlled application of force is the sincerest form of communication.)
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To: jtminton
Abu Hassan

from:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029415/quotes

Perhaps my favorite Popeye cartoon


Under his breath while crossing the endless desert wastes]
Popeye: If I had some bread I'd make a sandwich if I had a which.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[After pulling off Abu Hassan's long johns]
Popeye: Abu Hassan got 'em anymore!
Abu Hassan: You want to make fool from me?
Popeye: Aah, nature beat me to it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Popeye: I'll ask in there for bandits,
[then points to a cafe] P
opeye: but first we'll go in there for a cup of cafe.
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------
Popeye: That's just one of them invisible garages that
you can't see on the desert.
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------
Popeye: Bring me some desert without any sand.
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------
Abu Hassan: Open sesame!
Popeye: Open what?
[Secret door opens and Abu and his thieves go in. Popeye arrives too late]
Popeye: Open up. Now what was that word they used to open this thing? Open sissy! Open sayso! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Popeye: Open, says me! <

50 posted on 06/04/2004 11:02:21 AM PDT by Porterville (oOOOo USA against the World in this summer Olympics oOOOo)
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51 posted on 06/04/2004 11:06:02 AM PDT by Porterville (oOOOo USA against the World in this summer Olympics oOOOo)
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52 posted on 06/04/2004 11:07:35 AM PDT by Porterville (oOOOo USA against the World in this summer Olympics oOOOo)
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To: SengirV

It smells hideous and is highly flammible. some of them actually degrade the interior of the tire.


53 posted on 06/04/2004 11:56:18 AM PDT by bad company (I cunt evun spel mechanic wen i gaut heer, naw i ar wun)
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To: jtminton

You know, I am not sure. Doesnt ring any bells, no pun intended...JFK


54 posted on 06/04/2004 12:56:47 PM PDT by BADROTOFINGER (Life sucks. Get a helmet.)
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To: bad company; Skooz; B Knotts

Thanks all =)


55 posted on 06/04/2004 1:41:53 PM PDT by SengirV
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To: RightWhale
This happens with truck tires. Passenger car tires don't usually have enough pressure to explode hard enough to kill. Who would weld on the wheel with the rubber attached? Use iron glue.

Some of the older 'fix-a-flat' products used flammable propellants also.

I recall when I was in the service, we had the 5 and 10 ton prime mover trucks. Some guys were trying to break down a tire, by unbolting the rims. They had the tire flat on the concrete in a large garage. The guy was standing on the tire to unbolt the rims.

After the pop, they found the guy hanging in the rafters, shaken, but not stirred.

56 posted on 06/04/2004 1:54:47 PM PDT by TC Rider (The United States Constitution © 1791. All Rights Reserved.)
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To: tacticalogic
"I thought acetylene was stored that way because it would explode if it was allowed to expand too quickly. The pressure gauge on my acetylene tank says I have a lot more than 14psi of gas pressure in the tank"

The acetylene doesn't care how fast it's moving, but it gets real touchy when under pressure. The tank pressure can be 200 PSI, because the acetylene is in solution and that solution is kept within a porous filling. The acetone is the solvent and keeps the acetylene from reacting with itself at that pressure. Once it leaves the high pressure side of the gauge, it must remain below ~9PSI. At 14PSI it goes boom. All the passages out of the high pressure side are filled with porous media and kept short to prevent reaction 'till the gas goes into the hose at a low pressure.

57 posted on 06/04/2004 1:58:50 PM PDT by spunkets
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To: BADROTOFINGER

Great story.


58 posted on 06/04/2004 2:04:40 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: spunkets

Doesn't sound right. Low pressure side of an acetylene gauge goes up to 45lbs. There is a red bar on the gauge that starts at 15lbs, and they recommend you don't go over that. I typically weld at about 5-8 lbs, and have gone as high as 15-17 lbs cutting thick steel.


59 posted on 06/04/2004 2:18:43 PM PDT by tacticalogic (I Controlled application of force is the sincerest form of communication.)
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To: spunkets
the tank should always be upright when drawing from it

Store the tank that way, too--always upright. And never grease the oxygen tank fittings. They made sure to tell us about that in the first gas welding and cutting class. They aren't kidding, no kidding around on safety. There's plenty of other things to joke about, especially after a couple hours of working on your first weld.

60 posted on 06/04/2004 2:26:16 PM PDT by RightWhale (Theorems link concepts; proofs establish links)
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