You have probably heard someone say, “you are adding fuel to the fire.” This is a metaphor for when the words that we say or write ramp up an already heated conversation. This is not the fuel that I will be writing about in this article, but the literal gasoline that many add to a fire though they should not. Gasoline is a flammable liquid with a low flash point and a low ignition temperature. In other words, it takes very little heat to get gasoline to burn. There are many people, including off-duty firefighters, who have been burned badly by gasoline being added to a fire. This article will hopefully lead to a change of behavior, but if not, I hope to at least get you to think about things the next time that you do it.
As I stated, gasoline has a low ignition temperature, which makes it the usual “go to” when you are burning brush or may be starting a bonfire. The problem is that many do not understand what is actually burning when you pour gasoline on the fire. You might think that the liquid is what is burning, but in all reality, it is the vapors that are burning. You may have seen that you pour gasoline on something to burn, but when you go to ignite it, the flash of fire is well beyond the point where you poured the liquid. This is the phenomenon that causes so many people to be burned by the fire. The unseen vapor cloud or vapor space has the potential to encapsulate you and you never know it. You light the fire and immediately the entire vapor space flashes, burning you and anyone or anything that is close enough to be burned by it. It literally takes seconds for you to go from lighting the fire to the point where you have first, second, and third degree burns, over a high percentage of your body.
Let’s take a moment and look at a burn injury. I stated 3 degrees of burns, but there are actually 6 degrees of burns. The deeper a burn goes, the higher the degree. Burns to the hands, face, and feet are among the most serious burns, but any burn that covers a large portion of your body could be considered serious, even a first degree burn that looks like a sunburn. Our skin is an organ of our body, part of the integumentary system. The skin’s purpose is primarily to keep things inside of our body, and to prevent harmful things from getting in from the outside. Once the skin is open or damaged, it can no longer serve its purpose. The amazing thing about our bodies is a God-created ability to heal, but with assistance in burns. During my time as a firefighter/paramedic, I treated or cared for several people with extensive burns. Some of these patients survived and some died, as a result of their burn injuries. Immediate treatment for a burn is copious or large amounts of cold water. Just like putting the fire out in a house, you must put out the fire that is on the body. Greases and oils are, again, things that could intensify the burning process. Water and then dry sterile dressings are the best means of pre-hospital treatment. Burns are extremely painful mainly due to the involvement of nerve endings. One part of the treatment in the burn center is the debriding of a burn wound, which is the scrubbing of the area again, painful! One of the greatest dangers of a burn is the infection that may set in. Inhaled burns are critical to the airways, causing swelling to the nasal and oral passages, as well as the swelling of the bronchial passages. Concerning the skin, depending on the depth of burn, it may or may not regenerate new skin. If the damage is too severe, skin grafts from other parts of the body must be performed. In some cases, skin grafts are done in addition to artificial skin. The healing and treatment of burns is usually a period of weeks to months.
With this being the time to cut grass, we also need to consider the refueling of equipment. Many people choose to refuel, with the motor still hot. Again, the opportunity for a flash fire is great. The best scenario is to allow the motor to cool a bit before refueling. Since I can only hope that your dangerous behaviors will change, if you choose to refuel a hot mower, then you need to have a fire extinguisher close by. Think about it: pit crews are decked out in protective clothing, when going over the wall for the 15 to 30 seconds that they are changing tires and refueling a race car. The time that a fire will occur is when you let your guard down or when you are tired. Shortcuts or a disregard for safety will land you in a burn center in a moment.
Using gasoline for things that it was not intended for can lead to disaster. If you go to burn something, then you must consider all of the risks. There are times when you can burn and times when you cannot. Burn permits are issued by localities, and many times those are in conjunction with burn laws prescribed by the U.S. Forestry Division. It is important that you are prepared for the unexpected. Too many people have been burned when they choose to use gasoline as their fire starter or their accelerant. The wind can have an effect on the vapor cloud, the propagation of a fire and the spread of a fire. It is important that you think this thing through before you start that fire. Don’t wake up in a burn center. Waking up after being burned beats the alternative of not waking up at all.
