SAFETY ALERT: Dude's Cell Phone Ignites Gasoline, Fire Turns Out Gas Station

[Greg B]

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.

[KMR Stitch]

woah

[Creative]

Some old lady came out absolutely tweaking on me one day when I was filling up cause I was talking to my friend on the phone

exact words "GET RID OF THAT PHONE, IT WILL EXPLODE THE GASOLINE"

[TheFrog]

Holy crap

[baddog]

urban legend . . . . those myth breaker guys on TLC tried all they could to cause that to happen and could not do it

[riosluts]

i knew that was possible but i though that chance of something like that happening was 1 in a million or greater

[zagi]

When entering the gas station, please be sure to avoid engaging in cigarette smoking as well as mobile phone conversation. Gasoline is now $3.25 (in 1 year you will be thinking im mad, when its $5 ), thank you and have a nice day.

Gas stations love to throw little gadgets in to lure people, and usually they're good decisions, look at the fast swipe keys for ie. (lol can you do it in reverse)

[pure energy]

This is not the first. I heard something like this way back.

[Justfuckedmyself]

Some gas pumps do have a warning about cell phones

[Creative]

Originally posted by baddog
urban legend . . . . those myth breaker guys on TLC tried all they could to cause that to happen and could not do it

Those guys are cool geeks

[LiveDose]

Hmmm, so the warning signs are real.... ok.

[Oh Sheila]

Originally posted by Justfuckedmyself
Some gas pumps do have a warning about cell phones

Yep I've seen them. There's also warnings about grounding yourself before pumping.. I remember a story of a guy who burst into flames while pumping gas because he was was standing in the bed of his truck and some static electricity reared it's ugly face... scary

[Vitasoy]

damn that is crazy!

[baddog]

Originally posted by Creative
Those guys are cool geeks

If you saw the episode in question, they had to fill up the box with gas fumes and throw in a fucking flare to get it to ignite

[baddog]

Episode 2: Cell Phone Destruction, Silicone Breasts, CD-ROM Shattering
In this episode, Jamie and Adam test several explosive theories. Can chatting on a cell phone while pumping gas cause the pump to blow up? Our mythbusters put themselves at risk so you don't have to. They also put silicone breast implants to the test at high altitude. Will they burst under pressure? Finally, we'll learn once and for all if high-speed CD-ROM players can really shatter a compact disc.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/my...e/episode.html

[Brat]

hahaha... i was at a gas station the other day with a few people and we were joking about the no cell phone sign.

that's fucked up if it's true!

[baddog]

Snopes

From the static electricity discussion

Don't ever use cell phones when pumping gas
At this point we have to wonder whether the author of this piece was reading the same summary we are. The PEI's summary states quite plainly that No cell phones were involved in any reports of gas station fires.

[webmaster x]

Some people should be responsible enough in using their cell phones.

[serious]

that fire suppressant system sounds pretty slick, would like to see it in action.

[pure energy]

Originally posted by Brat
hahaha... i was at a gas station the other day with a few people and we were joking about the no cell phone sign.

that's fucked up if it's true!

They won't be joking if they saw it happen on the spot!

[Merrioc]

the cell phone is not the cause, and as the guys on myth busters said, this mostly happens to women. The cause is static, from getting in and out of your car and not grounding yourself.

since its usualy women that pump gas then sit back in the car...

nothing to do with cell phones...

[SS396chevelleSS]

yeah, thats common knowledge. Read warnings once in a while

[bawdy]

Idiots... the reason about the warnings not to use mobile phones near pumps is so that they do not interfer with the computer controlled equipment the runs the pump and especially the bit that works out how much gas you have pumped... the only thing the gas station is protecting is their profit

[baddog]

Originally posted by bawdy
Idiots... the reason about the warnings not to use mobile phones near pumps is so that they do not interfer with the computer controlled equipment the runs the pump and especially the bit that works out how much gas you have pumped... the only thing the gas station is protecting is their profit

You call other people idiots and come up with that conclusion? You are the idiot. Have you ever seen the inside of a gas pump? There is nothing "computer controlled" with the measurement of dispensed gas, and certainly nothing that a cell phone frequency could interfere with

[Babagirls]

shit............

[KRL]

Should have called BP4L instead of 911.

[reynold]

Originally posted by SS396chevelleSS
yeah, thats common knowledge. Read warnings once in a while

It wouldn't hurt you either!

[bawdy]

Originally posted by baddog
You call other people idiots and come up with that conclusion? You are the idiot. Have you ever seen the inside of a gas pump? There is nothing "computer controlled" with the measurement of dispensed gas, and certainly nothing that a cell phone frequency could interfere with

lol you are probably right... but im more cynical to just tow the line

[baddog]

Originally posted by bawdy
lol you are probably right... but im more cynical to just tow the line

You have been here too long

[richard123]

I love using my phone while I fill up and see all the morons hiding behind their cars. Someone once told me about the so called explosion, and I replied:

"Fuck off, idiot!". Then he left.

[Mr. Marks]

Whether it's the cellphone or not, the incident is still nerve-wrecking.

[richard123]

Erhorn, who had been on his way to a friend's birthday, suffered a minor burn on his left hand, where he had held a cigarette before dropping it to the ground after being surprised by the cell phone ringing. ''I'm very surprised,'' he said of the fire. "Who would have thought a cell phone could start a fire? I think it used to belong to a Muslim"

[LiveDose]

Originally posted by richard123
I love using my phone while I fill up and see all the morons hiding behind their cars. Someone once told me about the so called explosion, and I replied:

"Fuck off, idiot!". Then he left.

[pure energy]

People are just as addicted to cellphones as we are with GFY!

[demented]

Originally posted by richard123
I love using my phone while I fill up and see all the morons hiding behind their cars. Someone once told me about the so called explosion, and I replied:

"Fuck off, idiot!". Then he left.

[samuel]

That happened becasue it was a hot line phone call...

Samuel

[TechNtentions]

Well.....now we know why the gas pumps say "please turn off your cell phone"

[JamesK]

Originally posted by richard123
I love using my phone while I fill up and see all the morons hiding behind their cars. Someone once told me about the so called explosion, and I replied:

"Fuck off, idiot!". Then he left.

Nice

[VeriSexy]

Originally posted by Merrioc
the cell phone is not the cause, and as the guys on myth busters said, this mostly happens to women. The cause is static, from getting in and out of your car and not grounding yourself.

since its usualy women that pump gas then sit back in the car...

nothing to do with cell phones...

Any kind of spark can cause a fire of explosion with lot's of gas on. I use to watch gangster movies where they break into peoples houses. They turn the gas stoves on for a while and pour water over it to put out the flames. The house fills with gas and when the victim enters the house they call his house. The phone ringing causes some sort of spark and house explodes.

Wonder if it's true.

[Babel]

LAptops can also explode

[baddog]

Originally posted by richard123

"where he had held a cigarette before dropping it to the ground after being surprised by the cell phone ringing"

oh shit, I did not even read the article, that is too fucking funny. Yeah, blame the cell phone.

These guys must be on crack

[baddog]

Originally posted by VeriSexy
Any kind of spark can cause a fire of explosion with lot's of gas on. I use to watch gangster movies where they break into peoples houses. They turn the gas stoves on for a while and pour water over it to put out the flames. The house fills with gas and when the victim enters the house they call his house. The phone ringing causes some sort of spark and house explodes.

Wonder if it's true.

In the old days telephones used to have bells, and capacitors, which could cause a spark if one loosened the connection inside the phone (ringing generator sent about -140VDC) Still, the chances of that working would be very slim.

A better way would be to loosen the connection on the light switch so when they flipped on the lights, you would for sure get a nice spark, and then BLAMMO!!!!

However, a cell phone does not have any of these components, so it would not work.

My forensic analysis says the only thing the cell phone had to do with this incident is that it surprised the guy, which caused him to drop his lit cigarette. When it hit the ground, sparks from the hot box flew up, igniting the gas fumes that were hugging the ground (gasoline fumes stay low as they are heavier than oxygen as I recall).

[crockett]

Originally posted by Oh Sheila
Yep I've seen them. There's also warnings about grounding yourself before pumping.. I remember a story of a guy who burst into flames while pumping gas because he was was standing in the bed of his truck and some static electricity reared it's ugly face... scary

It's because he had a plastic bed liner in his truck, those cause a lot of static electricity..

but about the cell phone, damn I guess the myth busters were wrong

[baddog]

Originally posted by crockett
It's because he had a plastic bed liner in his truck, those cause a lot of static electricity..

but about the cell phone, damn I guess the myth busters were wrong

maybe you should read more. . . . there is nothing in a cell phone that could cause it

[synergysex]

I have heard of this happening and I dont belive it.

I think its just that people are starting to hate cell phones so much that they are grasping for any excuse to outlaw or restrict the use of them.

I went to the BMV today and they had a big "no cell phone" sign when you walked in. Like the asshole I am, I asked why. They told me it was because the phones interfer with thier data transmissions back to thier main office.

Bullshit. If that is true, thats because someone was too stupid and/or cheap to use shielded cable. Now this wouldnt suprise me either.

[BlueDesignStudios]

wow.. I've always wondered if this happens (often).. I guess it can & does..

[stev0]

damn, that's scary if it's true...

[nathan_f]

the action of you getting in and out of your car causes you to gather up static electricity, and when you pump gas, bam, fire.

i have a video at work in my email of a girl at a gas station and the above ^ happens to her, i'll bump this thread monday with it posted..

[baddog]

I am going to start my own myth, you guys will believe anything

[WebTitan]

static charges can be a very strong