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(PennLive) Unlikely Write that on the tombstone: Second person nationwide ever to die in static-sparked fire at a fuel pump   (pennlive.com) divider line 52
More: Unlikely, fuel pumps, static electricity, DARE, St. John, fire chiefs, can happen, Mechanicsburg  
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6686 clicks; posted to Main » on 09 Mar 2010 at 12:35 PM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



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notmtwain [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 09:25:37 AM
Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.
 
kxs401
2010-03-09 09:29:04 AM
On the one hand, I am saddened at this senseless death. On the other, I find it kind of cool that something so rare happened only a couple of miles from my house.

I am a terrible person.
 
Sybarite [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 09:41:30 AM
Two in tens-of-billions? Wow, that guy ought to buy a lottery ticket...oh.
 
The Icelander
2010-03-09 09:49:44 AM
Another person tragically struck down by a Toyota.
 
I_Am_Weasel [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 09:57:14 AM
Sybarite: Two in tens-of-billions? Wow, that guy ought to buy a lottery ticket...oh.

He did buy a lottery ticket. He was busy scratching it at the time.
 
Rusty Shackleford [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 10:02:10 AM
farm3.static.flickr.com
 
Adman12 [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 10:10:21 AM
notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

They busted the phone thing. I thought they confirmed the static. I'm still annoyed by seeing those "no cell" stickers on every single f*cking pump.
 
veedeevadeevoodee
2010-03-09 11:02:14 AM
Write that on the tombstone

67.18.219.83
 
Dead for Tax Reasons [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 11:02:20 AM
surveillance video is not of good quality and it is hard to see if Byers got in and out of the car

i'll guess he got out of the car, but not back in
 
Gecko Gingrich [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 11:26:42 AM
notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

Huh?

FTFA: Upper Allen Township police Chief Frank Williamson said the station's surveillance video is not of good quality and it is hard to see if Byers got in and out of the car.

That's some shiatty camera quality.
 
gopher321 [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 12:31:06 PM
Well, thank god he didn't die in a senseless orange mocha frappuccino fight.
 
Bobo_Spiewack
2010-03-09 12:40:22 PM
Super-cool story time.

Yesterday, I pulled in, and began pumping gas. There was a car on the other side of the pump. After a minute, another car pulled up in front of said car and popped it's hood.

Car #2 was giving car #1 a jump start.

While it was at a gas station. Fueling.
 
FishyFred [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 12:40:59 PM
It took 11 posts for a Zoolander reference? Slipping, you all are.

i.imgur.com
 
bv2112
2010-03-09 12:42:08 PM
Ugh, why not say '1 in fives-of-billions'?
 
Roadogs [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 12:50:27 PM
bv2112: Ugh, why not say '1 in fives-of-billions'?

Because he's the (insert adjective here) attorney for the Petroleum Equipment Institute, who gets paid to make it sound unlikely.
 
bookman
2010-03-09 12:59:08 PM
Adman12: notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

They busted the phone thing. I thought they confirmed the static. I'm still annoyed by seeing those "no cell" stickers on every single f*cking pump.

Got a brother in law who is a fire chief in the mid west. HIS experts (more than one) that he called in about this say the cell phone thing is "improbably but possible."

So go ahead, bet 3rd degree burns over 90% of your body and a lifetime of pain against looking cool and being in constant contact with your so/stockbroker/whoever while gassing up. There are only 1,000,000:1 odds of it happening. Knock yourself out.

Just don't do it while I'm gassing up next to you.
 
bookman
2010-03-09 01:02:22 PM
Bobo_Spiewack: Super-cool story time.

Yesterday, I pulled in, and began pumping gas. There was a car on the other side of the pump. After a minute, another car pulled up in front of said car and popped it's hood.

Car #2 was giving car #1 a jump start.

While it was at a gas station. Fueling.

Were they smoking while doing the jump start? Doubly cool.
 
CaulkSpunk
2010-03-09 01:03:22 PM
FTFA: "He was killed after inhaling superheated gases from the flash fire, Cumberland County Coroner Todd Eckenrode said."

Jebus!
 
mctwin2kman
2010-03-09 01:04:02 PM
Wow, I have been driving for 20 years and never shut off the car when fueling and have been known to get in and out on occassion. Yet have never sparked near the gas filler or set myself on fire. Then again I touch the metal door to close it as well as the metal fuel filler door to open it. Either I am lucky as all hell or this kick is just really unlucky.

And why have cameras to catch would be thieves if you can not even see if a person got in and out of the car?
 
Bacchus-ette
2010-03-09 01:07:46 PM
Nephew in Iraq.
Fueling.
Survived.
3rd degree burns over 87%.

Not the only one.

It happens more than you think.
 
raerae1980
2010-03-09 01:10:47 PM
veedeevadeevoodee: Write that on the tombstone

i856.photobucket.com
i856.photobucket.com
 
Bodine Wilson
2010-03-09 01:12:42 PM
A person is unlikely to be killed by this, as they have a tendency to run away.

However, since they can produce this statistic:
Seventy-eight percent of the victims have been women

I would imagine a person being burned by this is not that incredibly rare.
 
Mount Sporkula
2010-03-09 01:18:50 PM
I pulled up to a gas pump a few years ago and stepped out of the car without holding the door frame and got a nasty static jolt on my ankle. The jolt was immediately followed by a billowing fireball that spread across the ground in every direction.

During that fraction of a second I thought, "Well at least my death will be a spectacular one." But then the fireball vanished and all was well. No injury or damage. I wish I had that on video.
 
Bodine Wilson
2010-03-09 01:19:35 PM
mctwin2kman: Wow, I have been driving for 20 years and never shut off the car when fueling and have been known to get in and out on occassion. Yet have never sparked near the gas filler or set myself on fire. Then again I touch the metal door to close it as well as the metal fuel filler door to open it. Either I am lucky as all hell or this kick is just really unlucky.

And why have cameras to catch would be thieves if you can not even see if a person got in and out of the car?

Camera might be more aimed to where the plate would likely be is my theory.
 
Tex_Arkana
2010-03-09 01:28:15 PM
The Icelander: Another person tragically struck down by a Toyota.

damn Yaris!
 
Carthax
2010-03-09 01:31:59 PM
bookman: Adman12: notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

They busted the phone thing. I thought they confirmed the static. I'm still annoyed by seeing those "no cell" stickers on every single f*cking pump.

Got a brother in law who is a fire chief in the mid west. HIS experts (more than one) that he called in about this say the cell phone thing is "improbably but possible."

So go ahead, bet 3rd degree burns over 90% of your body and a lifetime of pain against looking cool and being in constant contact with your so/stockbroker/whoever while gassing up. There are only 1,000,000:1 odds of it happening. Knock yourself out.

Just don't do it while I'm gassing up next to you.

It is 100% impossible for this to happen. The amount of possible heat generated by a spark from your cell phone is not hot enough to light gasoline on fire. There's just not enough energy in the spark to light the gasoline vapors. No way, no how, not possible. It's been proven multiple times.

See snopes for more information.
 
Phil the SWO
2010-03-09 01:41:53 PM
Carthax: bookman: Adman12: notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

They busted the phone thing. I thought they confirmed the static. I'm still annoyed by seeing those "no cell" stickers on every single f*cking pump.

Got a brother in law who is a fire chief in the mid west. HIS experts (more than one) that he called in about this say the cell phone thing is "improbably but possible."

So go ahead, bet 3rd degree burns over 90% of your body and a lifetime of pain against looking cool and being in constant contact with your so/stockbroker/whoever while gassing up. There are only 1,000,000:1 odds of it happening. Knock yourself out.

Just don't do it while I'm gassing up next to you.

It is 100% impossible for this to happen. The amount of possible heat generated by a spark from your cell phone is not hot enough to light gasoline on fire. There's just not enough energy in the spark to light the gasoline vapors. No way, no how, not possible. It's been proven multiple times.

See snopes for more information.

For this reason, if I see one of those "No cell phone" signs at a gas pump, I take out my phone and talk on it just out of spite for the stupid people.
 
Jetty Cat Army
2010-03-09 01:42:50 PM
www.wiredforgadgets.com
 
ladyfortuna
2010-03-09 01:43:25 PM
Bobo_Spiewack: Super-cool story time.

Yesterday, I pulled in, and began pumping gas. There was a car on the other side of the pump. After a minute, another car pulled up in front of said car and popped it's hood.

Car #2 was giving car #1 a jump start.

While it was at a gas station. Fueling.

I really hope you left in a hurry, even if nothing happened.
 
Ulfhednar
2010-03-09 01:56:46 PM
cache-03.gawkerassets.com

There has been too much violence. Too much pain. But I have an honorable compromise. Just walk away. Give me your pump, the oil, the gasoline, and the whole compound, and I'll spare your lives. Just walk away and we'll give you a safe passageway in the wastelands. Just walk away and there will be an end to the horror.

I await your answer. You have a full day to decide.
 
nytmare
2010-03-09 02:01:30 PM
Phil the SWO: For this reason, if I see one of those "No cell phone" signs at a gas pump, I take out my phone and talk on it just out of spite for the stupid people.

You yak into your cell phone to spite people who yak into their cell phones?
 
Guysmiley
2010-03-09 02:02:06 PM
bookman: Adman12: notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

They busted the phone thing. I thought they confirmed the static. I'm still annoyed by seeing those "no cell" stickers on every single f*cking pump.

Got a brother in law who is a fire chief in the mid west. HIS experts (more than one) that he called in about this say the cell phone thing is "improbably but possible."

So go ahead, bet 3rd degree burns over 90% of your body and a lifetime of pain against looking cool and being in constant contact with your so/stockbroker/whoever while gassing up. There are only 1,000,000:1 odds of it happening. Knock yourself out.

Just don't do it while I'm gassing up next to you.

The "cell phone causes fueling fires" thing is a total myth. "Static charge building up because you go sit in the car while fueling and then ground yourself on the pump nozzle"? That's real. It happens from time to time, especially in northern climates during the winter where you get a combination of very dry air and people sitting in their cars to stay warm.
 
squidgod2000
2010-03-09 02:10:15 PM
FTA: Byers' youth might have been a factor - many times younger people get out of a car without touching the door, which would act as a ground to discharge static electricity, said Bill Renkes, an attorney with the Petroleum Equipment Institute in Oklahoma.

Sunroof?
 
Rick-mind-if-I-call-you-Dick
2010-03-09 02:11:50 PM
Police said Byers was not smoking and his car was not running.

Well, they were wrong about the first part...



/window seat, thx
 
rockymountainrider
2010-03-09 03:08:38 PM
Yet I anticipate another message from H.O. about the use of "intrinsically safe" phones and pagers around gas vapour...

\spammed by head orifice daily
 
Chimperror2
2010-03-09 03:10:30 PM
It wasn't the spark that killed him, it was his "spryness". FTA.

And nobody pointed out that this was a Toyota? Those things are death traps.

//And nobody pointed out that he was filling up an electric car with gas and it 'sploded?? Duh! Okay I made that up, but at 2:15 AM, I suspect the alcohol fumes from his mouth were as much to blame for the superheated gases as the gasoline.
 
aegiswings
2010-03-09 03:56:46 PM
I don't get this. How can you pump your gas and be in the car at the same time? At least where I live, it is impossible to be pumping gas and leave the handle to get back in the car (the gas will stop pumping). You need to stand there and hold it.

If this isn't true in the whole country, I'm surprised it hasn't been changed already as it would eliminate pretty much all these accidents.
 
myinternetname
2010-03-09 04:23:07 PM
1 in 5 billion.
 
debug
2010-03-09 04:58:45 PM
Just a few blocks from my apartment. Always special when my town makes it on Fark.
 
This
2010-03-09 05:38:04 PM
aegiswings: I don't get this. How can you pump your gas and be in the car at the same time? At least where I live, it is impossible to be pumping gas and leave the handle to get back in the car (the gas will stop pumping). You need to stand there and hold it.

Some pumps have a little spring-loaded lever in front of the trigger that holds it open, like the one on your garden sprayer. If you look on most pumps that don't have it, there's even the spot where the hinge would go before it was removed. There were a few die-hards in my neighborhood that still had those, but now they're all gone. I miss being able to squeegee while I pump.
 
ansius
2010-03-09 05:45:29 PM
When petrol station extinguishers attack via Failblog (in new window)
 
Jument
2010-03-09 05:56:42 PM
It's not really related but the gas station at my local Safeway last week put up signs on every single pump stating "Customer responsible for damage caused by driving away with hose".

I wonder... does that really happen all that often or did the manager just failblog for the first time?
 
Englebert Slaptyback
2010-03-09 06:43:06 PM

Bobo_Spiewack

Super-cool story time.

Yesterday, I pulled in, and began pumping gas. There was a car on the other side of the pump. After a minute, another car pulled up in front of said car and popped it's hood.

Car #2 was giving car #1 a jump start.

While it was at a gas station. Fueling.


And...? What exactly do you think was going to happen? The gas fumes would somehow travel in a discrete, super-dense cloud up to the front of the car and hover there, waiting for a single spark from the jump-starting activity to create an immense fireball and immolate everything in a two-block radius?
 
forresttriax
2010-03-09 07:22:16 PM
IT WAS A TOYOTA!
 
phunkey_monkey
2010-03-09 07:35:16 PM
What do I want on my tombstone???

Pepperoni, sausage, black olives and hairy fish.

But seriously...

What a bummer.
 
SilentStrider [TotalFark]
2010-03-09 07:37:45 PM
Hmm.
Lower Allen Township. If he lived in that area, he likely went to Mechanicsburg Senior High. Which means there's a chance my dad might have known him.

Probably not a great one, but its still possible
 
pestluvr
2010-03-09 07:55:56 PM
SilentStrider: Hmm.
Lower Allen Township. If he lived in that area, he likely went to Mechanicsburg Senior High. Which means there's a chance my dad might have known him.

Probably not a great one, but its still possible

Nope, Cedar Cliff grad, which happens to be my alma mater.
 
Wulfman
2010-03-09 08:07:44 PM
bookman: Got a brother in law who is a fire chief in the mid west. HIS experts (more than one) that he called in about this say the cell phone thing is "improbably but possible."

So go ahead, bet 3rd degree burns over 90% of your body and a lifetime of pain against looking cool and being in constant contact with your so/stockbroker/whoever while gassing up. There are only 1,000,000:1 odds of it happening. Knock yourself out.

Just don't do it while I'm gassing up next to you.


Or what? You'll hex me?

/superstitious motherfarkers irritate me.
 
Death of Rats
2010-03-09 11:09:18 PM
aegiswings: I don't get this. How can you pump your gas and be in the car at the same time? At least where I live, it is impossible to be pumping gas and leave the handle to get back in the car (the gas will stop pumping). You need to stand there and hold it.

If this isn't true in the whole country, I'm surprised it hasn't been changed already as it would eliminate pretty much all these accidents.

I can't recall being to a gas station here in Washington without that fancy feature. (Also, in Oregon state, its illegal to pump your own gas, so this feature is awesome for the attendants!)

Jument: It's not really related but the gas station at my local Safeway last week put up signs on every single pump stating "Customer responsible for damage caused by driving away with hose".

I wonder... does that really happen all that often or did the manager just failblog for the first time?

I've seen it happen. Watched a guy drive away while the nozzle was still in his truck. It stretched to its limit and then violently popped out and smacked the ground hard. Could have seriously hurt somebody. He didn't even seem to slow down, so I wonder if he even noticed.
 
Cup Check [TotalFark]
2010-03-10 12:41:07 AM
I work for the Dept. of Weights & Measures in the OC - have a few things I'd like to address here.

Adman12: notmtwain: Another senseless death caused by relying on the Mythbusters.

They busted the phone thing. I thought they confirmed the static. I'm still annoyed by seeing those "no cell" stickers on every single f*cking pump.

The reason you see all those stickers is the station's paranoia because the pumps are designed to reset to 0.00 if it encounters radio frequency interference from an electronic device such as a cell phone or mp3 player. In theory, you could have pumped $100 of gasoline and get it for free if such an instance occurs - though I've never seen or heard about this happening in the 3 years I've worked there. During my inspections, I carry 2 cell phones (work and personal) and I listen to my mp3 so stupid people will stop asking me what I'm doing. Obvious inspector is obvious!

Carthax: It is 100% impossible for this to happen. The amount of possible heat generated by a spark from your cell phone is not hot enough to light gasoline on fire. There's just not enough energy in the spark to light the gasoline vapors. No way, no how, not possible. It's been proven multiple times.

See snopes for more information.

That's just not true - gasoline in and of itself is not extremely flammable, but the vapor can ignite at the same flash point as Diesel #2 (125 degrees Fahrenheit). I've been present during a Air Quality Management District inspection on the vapor recovery systems of a station where the idiot working for AQMD didn't static discharge before grabbing the cap for the underground storage tank inlet fill pipe. Ever seen what a geyser of fire looks like? With as careless as a lot of people are, I'm surprised things like this don't happen more often.

Death of Rats: I can't recall being to a gas station here in Washington without that fancy feature. (Also, in Oregon state, its illegal to pump your own gas, so this feature is awesome for the attendants!)

Here in California, they're mandatory and seems to give citizens the impression they can go all knucklehead while their fuel pumps. Seen guys light up cigarettes next to the pump, jump start while pumping fuel, create a fuel lake under their car from over-filling, etc.

I've seen it happen. Watched a guy drive away while the nozzle was still in his truck. It stretched to its limit and then violently popped out and smacked the ground hard. Could have seriously hurt somebody. He didn't even seem to slow down, so I wonder if he even noticed.

Worst I experienced was a jackhole who started driving away while fuel was still dispensing - get a nice face full of 89 octane. Drive-offs, as we call them, happen about 3 times a week here and costs roughly $300-$400 per incident.

/I know, cool stories bro!
//Still beats working in retail.
///Fark people who take 15 minutes to position their vehicle in front of a dispenser because they can't farking drive!
 
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