Pea-n-Me
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
Events are still unfolding...
https://www.boston.com/news/local-n...plosions-fires-lawrence-andover-north-andover
Yes. DH was saying that he was listening to someone on the radio who was saying that, with that type of pressure, if you lit your gas stove, say, that the flame could shoot up a foot high, turning it into something like a blow torch. This type of thing could've happened in all of these buildings.That's my understanding as well, @Pea-n-Me...it's customers of Columbia gas. They were recommending people not use their cell phone or even turn on a light switch during to risk of a spark. They just had a natural gas expert on the news and he said there could be issues/risks as the gas levels in some of the houses go down too. I didn't know this, but he said there's an over-saturation point in which there isn't a risk of ignition, but then as it decreases, there could be a risk again!?
That's my understanding as well, @Pea-n-Me...it's customers of Columbia gas. They were recommending people not use their cell phone or even turn on a light switch during to risk of a spark. They just had a natural gas expert on the news and he said there could be issues/risks as the gas levels in some of the houses go down too. I didn't know this, but he said there's an over-saturation point in which there isn't a risk of ignition, but then as it decreases, there could be a risk again!?
The way this article describes it, "too rich" of a fuel mixture won't auto ignite. It's called the "upper flammability limit". I suppose this is what happens in an older car engine when there's too much fuel in the chamber and it won't ignite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability_limit#Upper_flammability_limit
I don't know much about this kind if thing...So could there be more potential problems when the saturation level dissipates in some of these houses and goes back in that flammability range?
I'm not really a flammability expert, but there's the gist that one can manage to even put out a fire with enough fuel to smother it. I recall reading an article about a bunch of guys at Bell Labs who had the brilliant idea to try and reenact the scene from Die Hard 2 where the trail of jet fuel is lit with a Zippo, and they couldn't get it to light.
Of course this isn't something you'd stake your life to. Aren't they telling people to get the heck out of there?
That must've been so scary for her, I'm glad she's ok. It's unbelievable how much this is affecting so many people - and schools, businesses, etc. - in the area. Total disruption. Almost everything was shut down. The young man who died was sitting in his car when a chimney fell on him.I go to college in the area. My campus wasn't affected but there were fires not too far away. The buildings on campus were evacuated and gas lines shut down. Power was shut off to most buildings as well. Classes are cancelled today. There was no way to get home last night due to the highways being closed. My dad works about 15 minutes away so he was able to pick me up this morning and I drove home from his work. My heart goes out to the affected people, especially the family of the 18 year old who was killed. Thanks to all the first responders who went to the area - many traveled an hour or more etc.
So far one fatality and several injuries. An 18 year old male was in his car when a house exploded and the chimney fell on the car.Terrifying.... I hope there haven't been any injuries or deaths... ??