Free Republic

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- Flames shot up around a college student whose cell phone rang while he was pumping gas. Firefighters said Matthew Erhorn, a SUNY New Paltz student, received minor burns at a Mobil station near Interstate 87 Thursday night. Firefighters believe the cell phone ignited vapors coming from the car's fuel tank as it was being filled. They used an oxygen-killing white powder and extinguished the fire immediately. New Paltz is about 75 miles north of New York City.

May 20, 2004 | Vol. 54, No. 10There was a fire at an ExxonMobil service station May 13 in New Paltz, New York, that has received a great amount of media attention because it was initially reported that the source of ignition was the motorist's cell phone that was answered while he was refueling.The story gained momentum after an ExxonMobil spokesperson was misquoted in the May 15 New York Daily News saying "the cell phone could act as a source of ignition—similar to static electricity—on a phone call received and a phone call going out" and in petroleum marketing trade...

Static blamed for burning car at Springville gas pump By Amy Choate Deseret Morning News SPRINGVILLE — A fire chief says static electricity generated by a woman sliding across a car seat sparked a fire that engulfed a sport-utility vehicle at a gas pump Tuesday. Springville Fire Chief Phil Whitney said Shauna Raught had placed the gas nozzle into her 1996 Isuzu Trooper and returned to the car to sit with her 5-year-old son. As the fuel approached the $30 mark, the Springville resident slid out of the car and reached for the nozzle. That's when she saw a spark...