Cell phone causes gas station fire

[Tonio]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/14/tech/main617547.shtml

It doesn't take much of a charge to ignite gasoline vapors, New Paltz fire chief Patrick Koch told WCBS-AM's Peter Haskell. "Anything, really. Women's nylon stockings when they get out of a vehicle, that can cause a spark, too."

 

[John Z]

Thankfully we're entering into the way-too-humid time of the year, so that'll keep the gas pump explosions to a minimum. But if this warning keeps people off their dang cell phones for a couple of minutes a day, then I'm all for the promoting this hysteria.

 

[crabcake]

Originally posted by John Z
But if this warning keeps people off their dang cell phones for a couple of minutes a day, then I'm all for the promoting this hysteria.

silly, they'll just hop in their cars, dial up their friends, and pull out in front of you going down the road b/c they're distracted talking on the phone.

 

[tlatchaw]

I guess I'm the only person that saw the mythbusters episode that debunks this. They showed that static electricity is far more likely to cause these explosions. They couldn't get a cell phone in a room foggy with gas vapors to cause an explosion.

 

[Tonio]

Originally posted by tlatchaw
I guess I'm the only person that saw the mythbusters episode that debunks this. They showed that static electricity is far more likely to cause these explosions. They couldn't get a cell phone in a room foggy with gas vapors to cause an explosion.

I wondered about that, too. The pantyhose quote makes more sense. Now I have this image of women taking off their hose at the Wawa before getting out of their cars.

 

[Sharon]

Originally posted by tlatchaw
I guess I'm the only person that saw the mythbusters episode that debunks this. They showed that static electricity is far more likely to cause these explosions. They couldn't get a cell phone in a room foggy with gas vapors to cause an explosion.

I saw that show too. They really tried hard to make it blow up under normal conditions....nada. Static was the most likely cause because people weren't grounding themselves as they stepped out of their vehicles. If it were due to cell phones I think we'd be hearing about more idiots blowing up.

 

[sleuth]

Originally posted by Tonio
I wondered about that, too. The pantyhose quote makes more sense. Now I have this image of women taking off their hose at the Wawa before getting out of their cars.

 

[soul4sale]

skeptical

Didn't this whole thing get shot down on Mythbusters? As I recall, it takes a hell of a lot more voltage to spark a fire than a mobile possesses...

 

[tugboater]

It takes a lot of static to set the gas on fire and the o2 has to be right.I work on a 35000 barrel gas barge we walk around all the time with hand held radio's and pagers and cell phones .On the barge static is the biggest concen and not making any sparks at all.we are better off being full then empty because of all the vapors inside the tanks.

 

[willie]

Unless there is an open circuit to the ringer, there should not be any sparks in a cell phone or any kind of phone. Your starter motor makes a real spark.