L. David Byers, 19, dies from fire sparked by static electricity while pumping gas

[Rob Cibik]

Static discharge sparked fire at pump, police say
An expert on fuel-pump fires says Friday's fatality in Lower Allen
Twp. is only the second one in the nation caused by static electricity
at a pump.

March 09, 2010

By Monica Von Dobeneck
patriotnews.com

A 19-year-old Lower Allen Twp. man who authorities said died while
filling his car with gasoline fell victim to a freak accident that has
resulted in one other known fatality nationwide, a fuel expert said.

L. David Byers, 19, was filling up his Toyota Yaris at a BP station in
Lower Allen Twp. at 2:45 a.m. Friday when vapor fumes caught fire.
Byers died after inhaling superheated gasses from the flash fire,
Cumberland County Coroner Todd Eckenrode said.

A static-electric discharge sparked the flames, a state police fire
marshal said.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1268104210172130.xml&coll=1

[MWB]

I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.

Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.

Leave the cell phone in the car.

It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.


GO COMMON SENSE


Mark

[R H Draney]

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.
Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.
Leave the cell phone in the car.
It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.

Bullshit...and I mean that in the nicest possible way....r

[MWB]

Post by R H Draney

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.
Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.
Leave the cell phone in the car.
It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.

Bullshit...and I mean that in the nicest possible way....r

BULL POOP.... and I mean that in the worst possible way.............R


I disagree. Smoking and gassing up a car is safer than talking on a cell
phone a gassing up a car.

It appears we need someone to prove our different theories.


HMMMM.....

GO A


Mark

[R H Draney]

Post by MWB

Post by R H Draney

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.
Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.
Leave the cell phone in the car.
It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.

Bullshit...and I mean that in the nicest possible way....r

BULL POOP.... and I mean that in the worst possible way.............R
I disagree. Smoking and gassing up a car is safer than talking on a cell
phone a gassing up a car.
It appears we need someone to prove our different theories.

If a cellphone could set off an explosion at a gas pump you could also do it
with a quartz wristwatch....r

[John M.]

Post by MWB

Post by R H Draney

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.
Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.
Leave the cell phone in the car.
It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.

Bullshit...and I mean that in the nicest possible way....r

BULL POOP.... and I mean that in the worst possible way.............R
I disagree. Smoking and gassing up a car is safer than talking on a cell
phone a gassing up a car.
It appears we need someone to prove our different theories.

From the article (and from the self proclaimed 'only expert in the United
States on fuel-pump fires'). : Renkes also said the idea that cell phone use
has anything to do with such fires is an urban legend. He could just be full of
himself though.

I did know someone when I was a teenager who would put out a cigarette in a
gasoline filled coffee can (Idiotically, in retrospect, used as a cleaning
fluid.). He joked that he did it to freak his mother out. I don't remember
ever seeing him do it so he might have been pulling my leg.

--

John M.

[Dave Sill]

Post by MWB

Post by R H Draney

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.
Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.
Leave the cell phone in the car.
It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.

Bullshit...and I mean that in the nicest possible way....r

BULL POOP.... and I mean that in the worst possible way.............R
I disagree. Smoking and gassing up a car is safer than talking on a cell
phone a gassing up a car.
It appears we need someone to prove our different theories.

Mythbusters busted the cell phone myth. What do you think cell phones
have to do with electrical discharge? Has your phone ever shocked you?

-Dave

[MWB]

Post by MWB

Post by R H Draney

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.
Ground yourself, touch the metal part of the pump.
Leave the cell phone in the car.
It kills me to see someone pumping gas and talking on a cell phone. Smoking
and gassing up is far safer.

Bullshit...and I mean that in the nicest possible way....r

BULL POOP.... and I mean that in the worst possible way.............R
I disagree. Smoking and gassing up a car is safer than talking on a cell
phone a gassing up a car.
It appears we need someone to prove our different theories.

Mythbusters busted the cell phone myth. What do you think cell phones have
to do with electrical discharge? Has your phone ever shocked you?
-Dave

Mythbusters did a disservice to stupid people that talk on their cell phones
when they gas up their car.

A cell phone is not intrinsically safe and it is powered by electricity.
It's cold and dry up here and static shock season.


GO RED SOX NATION


Mark

.

[J.D. Baldwin]

Post by MWB
Mythbusters did a disservice to stupid people that talk on their
cell phones when they gas up their car.
A cell phone is not intrinsically safe and it is powered by
electricity. It's cold and dry up here and static shock season.

There is no mechanism for a cell phone used in normal operation to
create a spark. It just isn't going to happen. It never has
happened. It's pure myth.

The static electricity thing is (obviously) a real hazard, though you
have to get pretty damned unlucky to spark a fire while filling up a
tank -- the nozzle-in-the-hole configuration isn't very conducive to
ignition.

[R H Draney]

Post by J.D. Baldwin

Post by MWB
Mythbusters did a disservice to stupid people that talk on their
cell phones when they gas up their car.
A cell phone is not intrinsically safe and it is powered by
electricity. It's cold and dry up here and static shock season.

There is no mechanism for a cell phone used in normal operation to
create a spark. It just isn't going to happen. It never has
happened. It's pure myth.
The static electricity thing is (obviously) a real hazard, though you
have to get pretty damned unlucky to spark a fire while filling up a
tank -- the nozzle-in-the-hole configuration isn't very conducive to
ignition.

There may be a minuscule risk of static discharge from a cellphone, but it pales
in comparison to the risk of certain kinds of fabrics rubbing together in cold
dry weather....

So before you go hiding your cellphone inside an insulated static-proof cage,
make sure you take your pants off first....r

[MWB]

Post by J.D. Baldwin

Post by MWB
Mythbusters did a disservice to stupid people that talk on their
cell phones when they gas up their car.
A cell phone is not intrinsically safe and it is powered by
electricity. It's cold and dry up here and static shock season.

There is no mechanism for a cell phone used in normal operation to
create a spark. It just isn't going to happen. It never has
happened. It's pure myth.
The static electricity thing is (obviously) a real hazard, though you
have to get pretty damned unlucky to spark a fire while filling up a
tank -- the nozzle-in-the-hole configuration isn't very conducive to
ignition.
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------

I disagree. When you fill up a tank the vapors escape and all you need is a
sourse of ignition. When I gas up I leave my cell phone in the vehicle.

GO RED SOX NATION

Mark

[J.D. Baldwin]

Post by MWB
I disagree. When you fill up a tank the vapors escape and all you
need is a sourse of ignition.

True, but a cell phone isn't an ignition source. Unless you take the
battery out and short a wire across the terminals.

Post by MWB
When I gas up I leave my cell phone in the vehicle.
http://youtu.be/gct1BmKNvU0

There's no reason to believe that fire was caused by a telephone. It
was much more likely static from those baggy pants.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp

[Joe Pucillo]

Wasn't it MWB who said...

"Dave Sill" wrote...

Mythbusters busted the cell phone myth. What do you think cell phones have
to do with electrical discharge? Has your phone ever shocked you?

Nope. Only the bill.

A cell phone is not intrinsically safe and it is powered by electricity.
It's cold and dry up here and static shock season.

Yeah, but there's no spark from a cell phone - unless you have
one of those really old ones that you had to dial before they
invented the push button kind.

I think Frank Cannon had one of those kind in his Lincoln, but
they never showed him getting gas. Eating a lot, but never
getting gas.



JP

[Terry del Fuego]

On Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:21:13 -0500, Joe Pucillo

Post by Joe Pucillo
I think Frank Cannon had one of those kind in his Lincoln

He got it from Perry Mason.

[Charlene]

Post by MWB
I work on oil tankers and barges and static electricity is my enemy. I don't
wear my nylons at work.

Cotton tights are more in style this winter anyway.

wd45

[c***@yahoo.com]

@MWB. Article says a Mr. Renkes said the idea that cell phones have anything to do with such fires is an urban legend. He was an attorney with Petroleum Equipment Institute in Oklahoma, who describes himself as the only expert in the U.S. on fuel-pump fires.

[Rob Cibik]

Static discharge sparked fire atpump, police say
An expert on fuel-pumpfires says Friday's fatality in Lower Allen
Twp. is only the second one in the nation caused by static electricity
at a pump.
March 09, 2010
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1268104...

Pennsylvania Labor & Industry closes Cumberland County gas station
where man died pumping gas

By MONICA VON DOBENECK
The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA)

March 23, 2010

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has shut down the
Lower Allen Twp. gas station where a man died March 5 while pumping
gasoline until numerous violations are corrected, according to an L&I
report.

A letter dated March 12 to HET Enterprises, owner of the BP Service
Station on Simpson Ferry Road, notes “serious deficiencies with tank
and dispensing equipment” which “present an imminent danger to the
public.”

L&I spokesman David Smith said he could not say if Luther David Byers,
19, of Lower Allen Township, would have survived if the violations had
not existed. "I can’t respond to that,” he said. The Cumberland County
coroner said Byers died from inhaling superheated gases resulting from
a flash fire. A state police fire marshal ruled that the fire was
sparked by an accidental discharge of static electricity.

Alleged violations listed in the L&I report include not having an
attendant on duty while the station is open to the public, electric
equipment that was not in compliance, improper seals on dispensers, no
fire extinguishers at the doorway to the station or the canopy’s
support column, and failure to post warnings signs.

Byers was a 2009 graduate of Cedar Cliff High School and the
Cumberland Perry Vocational Technical School who was hoping to become
a police officer.


http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/03/pennsylvania_department_of_lab.html

[Brad Ferguson]

In article

Post by Rob Cibik
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has shut down the
Lower Allen Twp. gas station where a man died March 5 while pumping
gasoline until numerous violations are corrected, according to an L&I
report.

And he'll keep right on pumping that gas until those violations *are*
corrected.

[That Derek]

L. David Byers?

Wasn't that a minor chart hit for actress Michelle lee circa 1967?

[David Samuel Barr]

Post by That Derek
L. David Byers?
Wasn't that a minor chart hit for actress Michelle lee circa 1967?

"L. David Sloane", Columbia, 1968.
Charted 11 weeks, peaking at #52.

[RHDraney]

Post by David Samuel Barr

Post by That Derek
L. David Byers?
Wasn't that a minor chart hit for actress Michelle lee circa 1967?

"L. David Sloane", Columbia, 1968.
Charted 11 weeks, peaking at #52.

Probably an answer song to the Monkees' "D.W. Washburn"....r

[David Samuel Barr]

Post by RHDraney

Post by David Samuel Barr

Post by That Derek
L. David Byers?
Wasn't that a minor chart hit for actress Michelle lee circa 1967?

"L. David Sloane", Columbia, 1968.
Charted 11 weeks, peaking at #52.

Probably an answer song to the Monkees' "D.W. Washburn"....r

Um, nope...Lee's record dropped off
the chart 5 weeks before that Monkees
record entered it and ran for 7 weeks,
peaking at #19.

[Topic Cop]

Post by Rob Cibik
Static discharge sparked fire at pump, police say
An expert on fuel-pump fires says Friday's fatality in Lower Allen
Twp. is only the second one in the nation caused by static electricity
at a pump.
March 09, 2010
By Monica Von Dobeneck
patriotnews.com
A 19-year-old Lower Allen Twp. man who authorities said died while
filling his car with gasoline fell victim to a freak accident that has
resulted in one other known fatality nationwide, a fuel expert said.
L. David Byers, 19, was filling up his Toyota Yaris at a BP station in
Lower Allen Twp. at 2:45 a.m. Friday when vapor fumes caught fire.
Byers died after inhaling superheated gasses from the flash fire,
Cumberland County Coroner Todd Eckenrode said.
A static-electric discharge sparked the flames, a state police fire
marshal said.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1268104210172130.xml&coll=1

This is why I don't have a drivers license.

And are people in New Jersey still prohibited from pumping their own gas?

[A Friend]

Post by Topic Cop
And are people in New Jersey still prohibited from pumping their own gas?

Yes. I've bought gas in NJ a bare handful of times. Some distracted
idiot shoves the nozzle in and wanders away for a while, then comes
back long after the gas has stopped running. Then he doesn't have
change. (I won't ever give one of those guys my credit card. I mean,
that's just asking for it.)

Oregon is the only other state than bans self-serve. It used to be a
full ban but, since the beginning of the year, they've allowed
self-serve at standalone stations in counties with fewer than 40,000
residents.

There's a good article here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2018/01/03/oregons-frea
k-out-over-pumping-your-own-gas-shows-why-many-dumb-regulations-still-ex
ist/#1c865aa5600e

http://tinyurl.com/y8lgdyfy

There's a link in the above article to a state page stating 17 reasons
why people shouldn't be allowed to pump their own gas:

https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/480.315

As Forbes says at the first link: "Of course, every day, tens of
millions of Americans in 48 states pump their own gas and --
miraculously -- manage to avoid setting themselves on fire or drowning
in gas."

[Sarah Ehrett]

On Sat, 25 Aug 2018 12:21:13 -0700 (PDT), Topic Cop

Post by Topic Cop
And are people in New Jersey still prohibited from pumping their own gas?

Well, prohibited is too strong a word. You're not supposed to pump
your own gas but late at night on the Turnpike/Thruway if the
attendant is asleep or drunk, you pump your own. We've all done it
hundreds of times.