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10-16-2009, 16:37

When I was quite young, my grandfather and I made a trip to Evanston, WY for tractor parts. Upon entering town, we saw a "train wreck", a real one. A full length rail car carry LP gas, leaking from the valve. LP gas fumes visible in the wind, moving around. Police, fire trucks, wreckers standing off 1000'. No one moved, all were afraid of an explosion.

My grandfather told me to follow him...

Leaving the truck, we scurried past the officers and entered the sage and greesewood. Upon exiting, we were standing next to the rail car.

My grandfather took off his oil soaked leather gloves and after placing a good sized rock inside one he asked if I could throw well. I opted out.

He lit the glove on fire and threw it high. The glove, upon reaching 60' at a point where oxygen and LP gas were missing, a fire started. The rock fell back to earth, the fire hovered at 60-80 feet above the ground. Slowly the fire dropped to 40, then 30 and finally rested at 20 feet.

My grandfather started walking back to the truck and met fireman and police officers waiting for him. No one asked a question. My grandfather told a fireman, "Keep an eye on that flame, when its about 2 inches from the valve, blow it out, should be a slight fire, no worries. Biggest threat will be the grass catching on fire. We gotta go, mama has dinner waiting for us."

When my mother was little and times got hard, my grandfather often returned to the coal and soda ash mines looking for work. While working the mines, miners often hit pockets of natural gas. This was how miners kept bigger explosions from killing people.

A cool lesson from an old man. He made me go look for his glove.

10-16-2009, 16:37	#319
wet dog Guest Posts: n/a	When I was quite young, my grandfather and I made a trip to Evanston, WY for tractor parts. Upon entering town, we saw a "train wreck", a real one. A full length rail car carry LP gas, leaking from the valve. LP gas fumes visible in the wind, moving around. Police, fire trucks, wreckers standing off 1000'. No one moved, all were afraid of an explosion. My grandfather told me to follow him... Leaving the truck, we scurried past the officers and entered the sage and greesewood. Upon exiting, we were standing next to the rail car. My grandfather took off his oil soaked leather gloves and after placing a good sized rock inside one he asked if I could throw well. I opted out. He lit the glove on fire and threw it high. The glove, upon reaching 60' at a point where oxygen and LP gas were missing, a fire started. The rock fell back to earth, the fire hovered at 60-80 feet above the ground. Slowly the fire dropped to 40, then 30 and finally rested at 20 feet. My grandfather started walking back to the truck and met fireman and police officers waiting for him. No one asked a question. My grandfather told a fireman, "Keep an eye on that flame, when its about 2 inches from the valve, blow it out, should be a slight fire, no worries. Biggest threat will be the grass catching on fire. We gotta go, mama has dinner waiting for us." When my mother was little and times got hard, my grandfather often returned to the coal and soda ash mines looking for work. While working the mines, miners often hit pockets of natural gas. This was how miners kept bigger explosions from killing people. A cool lesson from an old man. He made me go look for his glove. Last edited by wet dog; 10-16-2009 at 16:39.