INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
140
Vol. 15, No. 2
Curious Causes of Gasoline Fires and Gas Explosions’ By Augustus H.Gill 222 CHARLESRIVER ROAD,CALMBRIDQE, MASS.
H E ENORMOUS and ever-increasing use of gasoline and of hydrocarbon gases has caused many mysterious and disastrous explosions and fires. The reports of these are widely scattered throughout the daily press, and are more or less distorted and exaggerated, but very few get into scientific literature. This article is a study and investigation of some of the typical and well-authenticated cases, combined witha plausible or perhaps probable explanation of their cause. It may be useful to those who from time to time have occasion to look into such matters, particularly in connection with legal cases. One of the most mysterious of these fires, which was attended with fatal results, was the “Hair-Dresser’s Accident” of June 26, 1897, in London, cited by Dr. Munroem2A petroleum-containing hair wash was being applied as a shampoo when it suddenly ignited, burning the woman. Bearing in mind the familiar experience of lighting gas by shuffling across a rug and applying the knuckle t o the open gas jet, there is no doubt but that frictional electricity was here generated in sufficient quantity to ignite the petroleum vapor, It has been reported from New York, but not verified, that a woman recently set fire t o her hair by an electric spark while walking on a Brussels carpet, after indulging in a shampoo containing alcohol. The electrophorus, after being rubbed with a catskin, is sometimes used to explode gaseous mixtures in the small Hempel gas-explosion pipet. Inasmuch as ordinary ether is a constituent of hair washes at the present time, it seems that they should be rendered noninflammable by mixing with chloroform-or better, when applied, the patient should grasp a metal handle which should be carefully grounded. An automobile was destroyed and its owner, a naval surgeon, severely burned, through the firing of the gasoline by a spark produced by frictional electricity. “The surgeon had walked some distance to his garage in his fur coat and rubber boots. The friction of the flapping coat against his boots generated the electricity, while they insulated him from the ground and allowed his body to store it.’13 The spark went hence through the grounded automobile igniting the gasoline. A silk dress that had just been cleaned by gasoline was removed from a basket. This movement of the silk generated an electric spark that fired the gasoline vapor still remaining in the dress after cleaning. The dress and other nearby garments were b ~ r n e d . ~ When woolen fabrics are washed in ether or gasoline, they become electrically charged. This charge is so great as t o produce sparks when touched by a person.8 It has been demonstrated beyond question that when gasoline is pumped through hose, frictional or static electricity is generated-under certain circumstances a pressure of 400 to 500 volts has been generated.8 Even when poured through chamois skin dangerous sparks have been produced.7 This chamois strainer must be replaced by 80- to 90-mesh wire gauze which will exclude water when first wetted with clear gasoline. This generation of electricity has been shown repeatedly, but one example will
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Received January 8, 1923.
* J . A m . Chem. SOC.,21 (1899),330. Boston Tvuueller, January 11, 1917. New York World, February 28, 1916. Bw., 41 (1914),3239. * Quart. Nut. Fire Protection Assoc., October, 1914. 7 Sufelr Eng., October, 1914. 8
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illustrate: A chauffeur hung an ordinary 5-gal. can on the hook of a common gasoline pump. The bail of the can had a wooden handle which insulated the can from the pump. A gallon had been pumped when a spark jumped from the can to the pump and fired the gasoline. After putting out the fire-as it was desired to fill a car, and the reason for the lire not being understood-the filling of the can was repeated and it caught fire a second time. I n filling a can or motor-car tank, care must be taken that good metallic contact is made between the nozzle of the hose and the article filled. If a funnel is used, it should not be blocked up with wood or paper, but metallic contact should be made. A chain or wire should connect the hose nozzle with the filling tank so that all electricity generated may pass to the ground as it is produced.
GASEXPLOSIONS The explanation given of the cause of the hair-dresser’s accident-the generation of frictional or static electricity by rubbing of hair or fur-will undoubtedly explain the two following incidents i It is the custom of dog (and cat) catchers to asphyxiate their catch in a “tank” or “dispatch” with ordinary illuminating gas. I n 1914 the dog officer in Providence8 threw a cat into the lethal tank; on turning on the gas it exploded, singeing the officer’s hair and injuring another. This was the third time such an accident had occurred-many dogs had been disposed of without trouble. I n New York the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that in the course of twenty-five years there have been half a dozen minor explosions; the last one, however, was so serious that they have decided to adopt other means. Their “dispatch” was a steel tank 10 X 4 x 4 ft.; on the top were two covers of heavy plate glass set in steel frames and capable of being firmly fastened down. Thin lids covered the holes through which the animals were passed into this asphyxiator; the usual charge was about six cubic yards of cats. It was customary to charge it somewhat with illuminating gas and drop the victims into it, that they might be killed as quickly as possible. On the afternoon in question three basketsful of cats had been put in, one of the glass covers being held up by an attendant. Basket four contained, among others, a black “fighting Tom.” Several of his companions dropped without trouble, but he wanted to stay where he was. He dug his claws into the wickerwork and hung on, even holding another cat against the side of the basket. It was put down t o the very mouth of the hole and shaken hard; the two cats dropped -or the attendants think they did. There was a flash-an explosion, a shower of plate glass and cats; people from the office rushed in to find the place strewn with dead eats, the black Tom included, and the three executioners stretched out on the floor. Two were sent to the hospital, one with a possibly fractured skull, and all were more or less burned and lacerated. The explosion had blown open the steel emptying door and wrecked the plate-glass covers. The ceiling of the room was torn open for several feet and showed where the cats had been blown against it. All are positive that there were no lights burning in the room and that no one was smoking, it being strictly prohibited in the building. 8
Boston Herald, January 31, 1914.
