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Last week, I was involved in a serious explosion at my shop. I was reaching for a jack stand on the top shelf at my shop. When doing so, I accidently hit a small tank of Benzomatic MAPP Gas. The small tank fell to the ground and caused a flash explosion. This explosion landed me in the hospital for three days. I was treated for second degree burns on my forehead, nose, lips, right cheek, right ear, neck, and my wrists. Basically, I was burned everywhere that wasn't covered by clothing. This gas explosion was so strong that it managed to knock the sheetmetal off of my garage door. This 4'x8' piece of sheetmetal was held in by 1" long self tapping screws every 10 inches. There was at least 40 screws in each sheet and yet it still managed to blow it off away from the shop approximately 12 feet. It also broke one of the light bulbs in my shop.
Here is my warning so it doesn't happen to you:
IF YOU OWN ANY SMALL TORCH, REMOVE THE TORCH AFTER EVERY USE.
these torches make the gas cannister top heavy, causing it to fall over easy. If the torch hits the ground, it will cause the tank to crack where the torch screws onto the tank. Luckily, my tank was almost empty. I firmly believe that if the tank was new, I wouldn't be here now. I was at a shop picking up some parts, and I noticed that a guy had the same tank of MAPP gas sitting straight up on his work bench with the torch on. I told him what happened to me and that he should remove the torch and sit the tank on it's side. He simply replied, "Oh well." Please, learn from my mistake... REMOVE YOUR TORCH AFTER EVERY USE.
below are some pictures of my face and wrists 4 days after it happened. Perhaps these can give you a perspective on what happened.
Burn picture 1
Burn picture 2
Burn picture 3
Here is my warning so it doesn't happen to you:
IF YOU OWN ANY SMALL TORCH, REMOVE THE TORCH AFTER EVERY USE.
these torches make the gas cannister top heavy, causing it to fall over easy. If the torch hits the ground, it will cause the tank to crack where the torch screws onto the tank. Luckily, my tank was almost empty. I firmly believe that if the tank was new, I wouldn't be here now. I was at a shop picking up some parts, and I noticed that a guy had the same tank of MAPP gas sitting straight up on his work bench with the torch on. I told him what happened to me and that he should remove the torch and sit the tank on it's side. He simply replied, "Oh well." Please, learn from my mistake... REMOVE YOUR TORCH AFTER EVERY USE.
below are some pictures of my face and wrists 4 days after it happened. Perhaps these can give you a perspective on what happened.
Burn picture 1
Burn picture 2
Burn picture 3
I would say that your one lucky SOB!
