From the Mailbag:



JPeckham@nerac.com (Jack Peckham)



[This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited 03-29-2001).]

Pagers and portable radios are available in "intrinsically safe" versions which can be used in Class 1 Div 1 areas. I'm not sure about cell phones.
Don(resqcapt19)

" reach out and torch someone"..????

ROTFLMAO!

I found this post while searching for information on cell phone use around car fuel dispensers. Anyone have any more info about this? I have heard that it (cell phone use) could cause a fire while filling, like that horror story about using a plastic container laying in the back of a pickup. Any links to the true stories here?

Thanks, Rick Miell

You might try contactacting Mine Safety & Health Administration and see if they know of a "permissible" pager & cell phone. Permissible is their wy of saying it won't ignite a methane/air mixture.
http://www.msha.gov/

Oil companies are extremely concerned about cell phone use and gas pumps. I forget which company but a major oil company has had several deaths that I know of attributed to cell phones ringing. If you notice your surrondings while fueling up, you'll notice a decal telling you to shut off cell phone before fueling.
Haven't heard of a pager problem.

[This message has been edited by walrus (edited 03-12-2003).]

Boy, can you imagine how big a Class I, DivI, cellphone would be??
And, having to figure out a way to "open it up" to place a call??

I just had to add some sick humor to this thread.

Seriously, the majority of the chemical plants that I have to go to for inspections, require that you leave phones, pagers & radios at the point of entry.

John

Trying to picture how a pager would help in an emergency...

"Bang once on the big steel pipe if your OK, twice if you are hurt..." er, something like that.

The question from Rick Miell can be answered by http://www.pei.org/static/

As to the original question, posted in 2001, I'm not sure

P. S. Re: cellphones at the gas station, visit http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp

Thinkgood
read your link, very interesting. I work with Oil Companies everyday and I can assure that my customers do not believe that the problems involved are urban legend. Shell was the company that I was thinking of when I first posted as I have seen that memo. But I've also seen warning material from another Major Oil company.
Now, whther it is true of false I have no idea but the Oil Companies I work for take this threat seriously.

It would take a lot to make a gas station explode. Explosions are typically restricted to the Hollywood area Gas - not gasoline - is used for explosions and fires on movie.

The exploding cars seen on TV has caused fear among people of approaching burning vechicles to assist those in need. In reality, burning cars rarely explode.

There have been two recent incidents caught on tape here in the US of fires at the pumps where people have been injured.

Not explosions in the "Hollywood" sense but large fires still.

Gasoline is a very common way Hollywood makes the large mushroom cloud type fireballs, they put the gas in plastic bags and set it off.

But I agree "normal" cars do not explode as shown on TV or Film

The other kind of gas Natural or Bottled is used for continuous looking fires like fire coming out the windows of a building.

The hours of watching the Discovery channel have now paid off.

AWWW Man ! I thought that was Trainwire with his torch in those windows.

P.S. couldn't find the picture of it

[This message has been edited by txsparky (edited 03-13-2003).]

iwire:
Yup, gasoline (and diesel if hot enough) burns like h**l. I know of one incident where a car caught fire at the pumps. It got so hot that the aluminium caught fire...

txsparky:
Trainwire's oversize torch sure looks like something out of Hollywood.

In Korea they use propane. I am not sure what for. Howwever I have seen a video of a propane filling staion go up. They had about 100 bottles of propane, like the ones on a forklift. It was amazing to watch all those bottles explode, and the 500 gallon tank and then the propane truck. Blew up a whole block.

Scott

I saw the video of that too Scotts it was amazing, better then Hollywood and if I remember there where no deaths luckily

Going back to the fires at gas stations, you have to admit that the scene in the movie Zoolander is one of the funniest things that I have ever seen.
Scott

Slightly OT, but while I am no expert whatsoever—from past hazmat training, a very serious situation firefighters may sometimes face is a BLEVE. Search google, or read pages like: http://www.nfpa.org/Research/FireInvestigation/AlertBulletins/BLEVE/bleve.asp

txsparky: Is this the picture?

I think it may have been this one. [It's linked to the E-C.net site.]



Under the very appropriate topic: sparky discovers fire.... at https://www.electrical-contractor.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001788.html




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 03-14-2003).]

Bjarney,
Thats the one I was thinking of!

Thinkgood,
Is that a picture of Joe getting ready to burn somebody's butt for that violation?

Donnie

[This message has been edited by txsparky (edited 03-14-2003).]