Fire is a chemical reaction that needs three ingredients for it to occur:
- Oxygen - is present in the air that we breathe. There cannot be a fire if there is no oxygen.
- Heat - can come from friction, like when a match is struck - or from a spark like when two stones strike each other or an electrical arc.
- Fuel – is anything that is combustible - like wood, paper or cloth.
Things like gas, paint thinner or aerosol spray are fire accelerants. It only takes the fumes from these to cause fire. These fumes are invisible, heavier than air, and sometimes you cannot even smell them. Keeping these things anywhere near a pilot light could have disastrous consequences.
Read examples of burn injuries and law suits resulting from fume ignition and related explosions:
Propane Heater Explosion - New Mexico
A man was camping in his RV in New Mexico in January. He used a portable propane heater that attached directly to a 20-pound propane tank. The heater and tank were both brand new. After about 30 minutes of heating the connection between the heater and the propane tank began to leak propane. The man received severe burns to his hands when he shut the propane tank off. Examination of the propane heater revealed that a critical O-ring was missing. Tests have shown that a heater without an O-ring will not immediately leak when attached to a propane tank. It is postulated that the heater/tank connection began to leak due to the heating and/or cooling effects once the heater was lit.
Aerosol Hair Spray Burns - Arizona
A woman had sprayed her hair early in the morning with a hair spray product consisting mostly of mineral oils. The instructions on the container were to leave the product on the hair (soak) for a period of time (30 minutes). The woman gathered her children, put them in her car, and then drove them to day care. When she got out of the car at the day care center, she lit a cigarette and her hair burst into flames. The issues in the case involved labeling, the flammability of hair after a period of time following application of the product, and the inherent danger in the product.
Aerosol Spray Paint Fire and Burns - Indiana
A gentleman and his wife had decided it was a good day to touch up some of the wheels on their RV with spray paint, and to also paint a small table and chairs used by their grandchildren. This work was to be done outside, but the tools and spray paints were inside a (non-attached) workshop. The gentleman went into his workshop and gathered up sanding tools, sand paper and the can of paint. As he was walking toward the door of his workshop he began shaking the can of paint. The next thing he knew, the can exploded and he was engulfed in a ball of fire. The remains of the can indicate that the bottom of the can suddenly separated (completely) from the can, which in turn caused the explosion and ball of fire as well as a rocketing aerosol container. The top of the evidence container was found lodged in the workshop ceiling.
