Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Man blows himself up with cigarette while sitting on loo

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-06-2005, 07:03 AM:

quote: CNN News
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (AP) -- A man who says he was severely burned when a portable toilet exploded after he sat down and lit a cigarette is suing a general contractor and a coal company, accusing them of negligence.

John Jenkins, 53, and his wife, Ramona Jenkins, 35, of Brave, Pennsylvania, filed the suite Tuesday in county circuit court seeking $10 million in damages from Chisler Inc. and Eastern Associated Coal Corp.

The lawsuit claims Jenkins' face, neck, arms, torso and legs were severely burned last July after the cigarette ignited methane gas leaking from a pipe underneath the toilet unit.

"When I struck the lighter, the whole thing just detonated -- the whole top blew off," said Jenkins, a methane power plant operator with North West Fuels Development Inc. "I can't tell you if it blew me out the door or if I jumped out."

Eastern Associated owns the Blacksville property where the explosion occurred. Jenkins alleges that heavy equipment from Chisler Inc. ran over the pipelines before the explosion, causing the methane gas leak.

A call to the Charleston office of Peabody Energy, the parent company of Eastern Associated Coal, was not returned. A man who answered the phone at Chisler's office in Fairview said the company would have no comment.

Well, they say that smoking is bad for your health... [evil]

Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 06-06-2005, 07:15 AM:

whoa... I sure do know why I am a non-smoker [Eek!]

Besides, is smoking prohibited in your booths? In mine, smoking is allowed.

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 06-06-2005, 09:11 AM:

They attempted the same thing on Myth Busters and it failed. Also, you should never smoke in a booth. Smoke leaves a residue that will get on everything. Lenses, film...etc.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 06-06-2005, 09:46 AM:

quote:
.....the cigarette ignited methane gas leaking from a pipe underneath the toilet unit.

.....alleges that heavy equipment.....ran over the pipelines before the explosion, causing the methane gas leak.

.....Jenkins, a methane power plant operator with North West Fuels Development Inc.....

Did Myth Busters also run the scenario with a methane power plant in the background with heavy machinery running over leaky gas pipes under the portable? Just Checking...

Ciao

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 06-06-2005, 11:11 AM:

No but they did fill the toilet up with mass amounts of gun powder and gasoline.

Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 06-07-2005, 02:35 AM:

Which did explode when they used massive ammounts of gun powder. But lets be accurate: They were busting the myth about hair spray and other such common household fumes being severely concentrated in the toilet bowl.

This whole thing with the gas pipe leak is different.

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 06-07-2005, 09:57 AM:

They also did one with Porta-Potty. They filled it with Methane but I believe they said it was lighter than air and escaped out the vents at the top of the unit. They then sealed it up and may have gotten the desired results, but they HAD to rig it to make it happen

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-07-2005, 10:32 AM:

Some explosive fumes are heavier than air, and would tend to settle in low spaces (e.g., gasoline/petrol fumes).