Friday, May 14, 2004
Ringing cell phone starts fire at gas station
http://poughkeepsiejournal.com/today...051404s1.shtml
NEW PALTZ -- A college student pumping gas at a Route 299 Mobil station was suddenly surrounded by fire Thursday night as his cell phone rang.
Matthew Erhorn, 21, a SUNY New Paltz student, was pumping gas into his car when the incident happened about 9:30 p.m. at the station near the Thruway entrance.
New Paltz Fire Chief Pat Koch said the fire apparently began when the cell phone ignited the gas vapors coming from the car's fuel tank as it was being filled.
Erhorn, who had been on his way to a friend's birthday, suffered a minor burn on his arm. ''I'm very surprised,'' he said of the fire.
The fire was immediately put out by the station's fire suppression system, which uses an oxygen-killing chemical called ansul in powder form, Koch said. The system sprayed white powder throughout the station parking lot, covering cars and nearby trees. The Mobil station pumps will be closed until the system can be recharged. The store will remain open.
Ringing cell phone starts fire at gas station
http://poughkeepsiejournal.com/today...051404s1.shtml
NEW PALTZ -- A college student pumping gas at a Route 299 Mobil station was suddenly surrounded by fire Thursday night as his cell phone rang.
Matthew Erhorn, 21, a SUNY New Paltz student, was pumping gas into his car when the incident happened about 9:30 p.m. at the station near the Thruway entrance.
New Paltz Fire Chief Pat Koch said the fire apparently began when the cell phone ignited the gas vapors coming from the car's fuel tank as it was being filled.
Erhorn, who had been on his way to a friend's birthday, suffered a minor burn on his arm. ''I'm very surprised,'' he said of the fire.
The fire was immediately put out by the station's fire suppression system, which uses an oxygen-killing chemical called ansul in powder form, Koch said. The system sprayed white powder throughout the station parking lot, covering cars and nearby trees. The Mobil station pumps will be closed until the system can be recharged. The store will remain open.
), thank you and have a nice day.
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