Now that is a t-shirt quality headline. Well done sir

methinks the irony tag is being used appropriately...
*checks history books to make sure I'm not in an alternate universe*

Milli Vanilli wanted for questioning

A correct usage of Irony tag, isn't that like one of the signs of the apocalypse?

What's this? Decent use of irony? Funny? Excellent.

Whoa, an unexpected correct use of the Ironic tag. This may also be ironic.

Irony:
an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

It's like what? Raeineeeinna? Oh. The chick fron "Weeds." Dates the nadless dude. Gotcha.

Raaiieiiein, yeah,, whatever, proppers, deserving man.

don'tcha think? I almost had beer coming out my nose after reading that headline...

1) props to subby, wish I could give you a +5000

2) sprinkler systems deliver something other than tap water?

Im an idiot. Disregard my last post. Wow.

I predict a suit against the sprinkler company that maintained the system for putting in an improper antifreeze mix. Propylene glycol is also used in automotive antifreeze (not as commonly as ethylene glycol, but Peak is one brand) and you don't hear of mechanics having this happen to them. From Wikipedia: "Prolonged contact with propylene glycol is essentially non-irritating to the skin. Undiluted propylene glycol is minimally irritating to the eye, and can produce slight transient conjunctivitis (the eye recovers after the exposure is removed). Exposure to mists may cause eye irritation, as well as upper respiratory tract irritation. Inhalation of the propylene glycol vapors appears to present no significant hazard in ordinary applications. However, limited human experience indicates that inhalation of propylene glycol mists could be irritating to some individuals. Therefore inhalation exposure to mists of these materials should be avoided. Some research has suggested that propylene glycol not be used in applications where inhalation exposure or human eye contact with the spray mists of these materials is likely, such as fogs for theatrical productions or antifreeze solutions for emergency eye wash stations." So while wikipedia is of course an infallible source, that assertion squares with my own experience with the stuff... hell, I've had far more nasty chemicals in contact with my skin. Something's going on here, and I'm not sure what.

Now, if you ever happen to get ABC extinguisher powder in an open cut... *that* burns.

/BTDT
//still didn't end up in the hospital

It's just another Hegelian Dialectic.

Wow, subby it's ... beautiful

HelloMyNameIs: 1) props to subby, wish I could give you a +5000

2) sprinkler systems deliver something other than tap water?

Oh yeah. Sprinkler water is FOUL. Stinking stagnant water that's been sitting in iron pipes for ages, mixed with a little antifreeze and a slight tinge of machine oil (from cutting the threads on the pipes) adding to the bouquet.

Theoretically the systems should be tested periodically, and if you've ever been present at an inspection of a system that doesn't have express drains (so the techs have to dump the water from the inspector's test valve into a big trash can and then wheel it out of the building) you know what I'm talking about.

Is this like a chocolate rain thing? That shiat's payed out

i mean played out.

Sounds like someone forgot to dilute their antifreeze first.

"well here's your problem, your sprinkler isn't a sprinkler so much as it is a flamethrower."

Investigators say Luke started the initial fire by playing with matches. That set off the apartment sprinklers.

"It sends a chill down your spine because that is there to protect your family, and in our case it actually caused an explosion and burned our kids," said Dannie Phillips, Allix Thrall's father.

No it didn't... propylene glycol is only combustible in pure form, and only in the presence of a strong oxidizer. The sprinkler systems don't carry pure antifreeze, and most houses arent full of acid/peroxide/perchlorate. Something else was at work here.

Submitter. Out thineself.

Such a blessed and glorious headline deserves recognition. Even the inflection in the lyrics were spot on. May you win Headline of the Year and be forever included in the annuls of Fark history.

/hehe anals.

From an earlier version of this story "She says her grandson started a small fire on the couch" - What a jolly household that must be... Honey, junior has a little camp fire going on the coffee table again, be a dear and throw some sand on it.

Tt's like strangling your ex when all you need is a knife.

LoneVVolf: propylene glycol is only combustible in pure form, and only in the presence of a strong oxidizer.

It's got a 1 on the fire diamond. I'm sure if you sprayed a fine mist of it into the air of a burning building you'd get some pretty spectacular results. Just look at what coffee creamer (new window) will do

ultraholland: Stanfan114: Is this like a chocolate rain thing? That shiat's payed out



not played enough

Agreedo

phonetics for the win. nice.

untaken_name: It's just another Hegelian Dialectic.

How many dialects are there in Hegel?

untaken_name: It's just another Hegelian Dialectic.

What does Hellen Keller have to do with this..?

Subby has set the new Ironic tag headline world record for win.

It's like forgetting to turn off the oxygen tank on my cigarette break.

tragic sprinklers are always better than rain. rain can't drench a file cabinet like sprinklers, hurricanes, or throwing them in a river can.

just_dis_guy:Oh yeah. Sprinkler water is FOUL. Stinking stagnant water that's been sitting in iron pipes for ages, mixed with a little antifreeze and a slight tinge of machine oil (from cutting the threads on the pipes) adding to the bouquet.

The more you know (cue pic). Foul I suspected, and don't believe it smells any worse than a puddle by a dumpster in a major city in the dead of summer (horrible yet tolerable), but didn't know of additives.

NOT ironic

If only something could have prevented this tragedy!

poorjon: LoneVVolf: propylene glycol is only combustible in pure form, and only in the presence of a strong oxidizer.

It's got a 1 on the fire diamond. I'm sure if you sprayed a fine mist of it into the air of a burning building you'd get some pretty spectacular results. Just look at what coffee creamer (new window) will do

Well, pretty much anything will burn if atomized or powdered finely enough. But that shouldn't happen in a sprinkler system, since even in the coldest climates what comes out of the sprinkler heads should be at least as much water as antifreeze and likely much more. Best practice is to use as little antifreeze as required to provide proper freezing protection plus a little safety margin, both for economic reasons and to preclude just the kind of "perfect storm" incident that would result in the glycol actually igniting, with someone standing underneath the head *as it goes off* so that they are caught up in the incident before the antifreeze is all pushed out of the system and the head(s) discharge pure(ish) water.

I have to admit that when I skimmed the article that I assumed that the glycol was being blamed for *chemical* burns as I considered the likelihood of it actually igniting to be negligible. A quick google revealed that it is actually possible for high concentrations of glycol in sprinkler systems to ignite under the right (wrong) circumstances, but again, best practice is not to use high concentrations thereof.

That said, NFPA apparently considers this enough of a risk to have recently banned the use of antifreeze in new construction residential sprinklers, so shows you how much I know. (NFPA is, however, quite conservative, some may say paranoid, but when you're dealing with life safety systems, that's not necessarily a bad thing.)

Brace yerselves.

Rare form tonight, ladies and gents.

Brace squared and let it begin, as it were.

;)

A sprinkler is not a truck, it is a series of tubes.

clevershark: A sprinkler is not a truck, it is a series of tubes.

So the interwebs are like a sprinkler system?

This is why I never give my kid matches. Who knows what's in sprinkler systems these days? In my day, fires had to be put out with coffee creamer and you liked it.

lather: untaken_name: It's just another Hegelian Dialectic.

How many dialects are there in Hegel?

At last count, almost 37,000. It's really tough to order a coffee there.

just_dis_guy: poorjon: LoneVVolf: propylene glycol is only combustible in pure form, and only in the presence of a strong oxidizer.

It's got a 1 on the fire diamond. I'm sure if you sprayed a fine mist of it into the air of a burning building you'd get some pretty spectacular results. Just look at what coffee creamer (new window) will do

Well, pretty much anything will burn if atomized or powdered finely enough. But that shouldn't happen in a sprinkler system, since even in the coldest climates what comes out of the sprinkler heads should be at least as much water as antifreeze and likely much more. Best practice is to use as little antifreeze as required to provide proper freezing protection plus a little safety margin, both for economic reasons and to preclude just the kind of "perfect storm" incident that would result in the glycol actually igniting, with someone standing underneath the head *as it goes off* so that they are caught up in the incident before the antifreeze is all pushed out of the system and the head(s) discharge pure(ish) water.

I have to admit that when I skimmed the article that I assumed that the glycol was being blamed for *chemical* burns as I considered the likelihood of it actually igniting to be negligible. A quick google revealed that it is actually possible for high concentrations of glycol in sprinkler systems to ignite under the right (wrong) circumstances, but again, best practice is not to use high concentrations thereof.

That said, NFPA apparently considers this enough of a risk to have recently banned the use of antifreeze in new construction residential sprinklers, so shows you how much I know. (NFPA is, however, quite conservative, some may say paranoid, but when you're dealing with life safety systems, that's not necessarily a bad thing.)

not to get too seriously technical, but from the pertinent NFPA news release: (new window)

Shannon said the key findings from the new report were:

* Antifreeze solutions with concentrations of propylene glycol exceeding 40% and concentrations of glycerin exceeding 50% have the potential to ignite when discharged through automatic sprinklers.
* Both the 40% propylene glycol and 50% glycerin solutions demonstrated similar performance to that of water alone for fire control throughout the series of tests.
* Based on the results of this research, antifreeze solutions of propylene glycol exceeding 40% and glycerin exceeding 50% are not appropriate for use in residential fire sprinkler systems.
* Consideration should be given to reducing the acceptable concentrations of these antifreeze solutions by an appropriate safety factor.

Soooo... this would seem to imply that the concentration of PG in the sprinkler system was >40%... protects to -5F... overkill for a residential installation. unless this was an apartment building that had lots of vacant, unheated units?

wippit: untaken_name: It's just another Hegelian Dialectic.

What does Hellen Keller have to do with this..?

She didn't know she was smoking right under the sprinkler.

headline of the year candidate.