Gas fumes are dangerous (as if we didn't already know)

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I just went down to the marina for the first time this month (work has been busy), and learned about this:

http://wtvr.com/2015/04/01/person-med-flighted-after-boat-fire-in-appomattox/

The story on that site covers most of the detail I was able to get. I was told that the boat owner is still in the ICU/burn unit. The boat is still underwater in the slip, and one other boat was damaged - a 90's SD330 (I think) was next to it in the slip and had severe blistering/charring on the hull, and the canvas was burned off.

You can read all the stories you want, but standing there looking at a boat underwater a few slips down from your usual spot really brings it home. Be safe out there.

 

[FootballFan]

can happen so fast.

Good wakeup call to maintain diligence and care around gasoline.

Two things that you do not think are going to happen when you are headed to the boat: Gas explosions and drowning's. They both happen so fast.

 

[davidh82]

Thank you for the reminder, definitely something nobody should take for granted.

Please let us know if you find out more information on the cause of the fumes or the ignition. It would be good to have a better idea of exactly what happened so that others can learn from this terrible event. Fortunately the victim was able to jump in the water, hopefully that lessened his injuries.

 

[rondds]

This was around the corner from my marina...

http://www.app.com/story/news/local...6/man-burned-boat-fire-brick-marina/25376457/

 

[dpmulvey]

Thank you for the reminder, definitely something nobody should take for granted.

Please let us know if you find out more information on the cause of the fumes or the ignition. It would be good to have a better idea of exactly what happened so that others can learn from this terrible event. Fortunately the victim was able to jump in the water, hopefully that lessened his injuries.

I used to keep my boat there and I cross a bridge over the Appomattox daily to and from work. I witnessed the smoke and called my ex as her and her SO keep their Sundancer at that marina. The two of them went to the marina and witnessed most of the incident.

From what I understand, the boat which burnt took on fuel at Anchor Point (next marina down river that has fuel). They returned to Small Boat Harbor were going to spend the night. The new owner was to head to Maryland at daybreak with the seller acting as a first mate. The boat was experiencing engine problems. The seller went into the ER to investigate. The engines were still hot.

This is where it gets fuzzy. The boat was allegedly docked stern to. Folks there said they smelled fuel. That could be because they were loaded to the vents with fuel or from a fuel leak. Which is unknown, but the smell was real. The story goes one of the engines was sputtering on the way in. Either bad fuel or water in the fuel or air in the lines is unknown. In either event the man who was in the bilge was checking the fuel filters when something caused the fuel/fumes to ignite. What is not clear is if fuel spilled on the hot engine, or an electrical arc or what. But I can tell you when it went, it went big. The smoke affected my vision as I crossed over the Appomattox on the way home. I want to say maybe 1/2 mile as the crow flies. It was pretty thick.


The fire department towed the boat to the fairway to allow it to burn out and protect the other boats. The FD could not secure the boat fast enough when wind caught it and blew it back into the slip bow in. I don't know if I'm buying that as I've traveled that fairway countless times. Even I look like a pro docking in that marina. The berms block the prevailing wind. But.....I wasn't there. What was there was a bow rail and an anchor above water and a lifeless hunk of fiberglass below. I wish I had more solid stuff to offer, but now you know what I know.

If I were a gambling man, I'd say fuel spill from the filters. I've never been able to remove mine without spilling something in a container. With the filter off, the system is wide open regardless of how many failsafes are built into the system.

Whatever happened, it is a mess. The floats on two fingers are destroyed. One piling has about 3 feet of fire damage from about 7 to 10 feet in the air. There is a lot of wood damage to the fingers. These docks were VERY expensive. The wood is not builder grade. It's extremely hard and when cleaned, has a beautiful grain. It almost looks fake it's so nice.

I'm really not a fan of the oil filter looking gas fuel filters. I wish there was a Racor type device for gasoline.

The burn victim was torn up bad, but doing OK a few days after the accident. I haven't heard a thing since one way or the other.

 

[davidh82]

David, thank you for adding more information. I plan on changing my fuel filter so something like this makes me really think twice about what I'm doing. Unfortunately, I'm sure that the seller of the boat was probably not thinking his actions through completely, being that he was trying to complete the sale of the boat. He was probably frustrated and in a hurry.

Even though we don't have the complete story, what can we take away as lessons learned? Not to work on a fuel system while the engine is hot? To properly vent the engine room when any fumes are present?

There have been at least a couple of occasions where I've let frustration cloud my better judgement when boating, it seems like that might have been the case here.

 

[Westie]

There was a case out on the coast a few years back where a guy was using gasoline as a cleaning solvent to clean in the bilge. When he went to climb out of the bilge he kicked over the 120 volt AC trouble light that he was using and the bulb shattered and the resulting sparks set off the gas fumes. Boat burnt to the water line due to stupidity.

 

[dpmulvey]

davidh82,

i almost made made the same mistake. More experienced boaters set me straight. My filters are only checked after the engines have had an over night to cool. All power to the boat is secured.

Be be careful out there!

 

[dwna1a]

I really feel bad for the new owner and the PO, I hope he has a speedy recovery.

i knew there was a reason I change my fuel filters in the dead of winter and even then I'm super careful and all power is shut off!

 

[Dsybok]

When a gas boat goes, it goes big. This was a really nice new 22' Monterey bowrider about 5 minutes before. Blew 7 people into the water some through the windshield. Sounded like a cannon going off 50 yards away from us. I always run my blowers, always check my engine and never mess around. When you see people being fished out of the water around you seriously injured when all they wanted was a nice sunny afternoon ride you tend to take this stuff seriously.

 

[FootballFan]

davidh82,

i almost made made the same mistake. More experienced boaters set me straight. My filters are only checked after the engines have had an over night to cool. All power to the boat is secured.

Be be careful out there!

You referenced "more experienced boaters" - sometimes that's our problem. We think we have all the experience in the world, we drop our guard, we do something we know in the back of our mind we shouldn't do - but do it anyway in a hurry.

Accidents happen.

We are at that time of year - boats are splashing - season is starting....

I remember the line from Hill Street Blues... Let's be safe out there

that's why I think threads like this benefit us all -- inexperienced, experienced, middle of the road - lets keep it in mind as the season starts.

Mark

 

[bajturner]

Has there been any more information about what actually started the fire or caused the explosion? I have to admit, and I'm not trying to start a war of words here, but I am a little doubtful about the theory of a fuel spill hitting a hot engine being the cause. I've seen gas spilled all over hot engines over the years...lawn mowers, motorcycles, weed whackers, etc. and have never seen ignition. Motorcycles would be especially prone with the gas tank being right above the exhaust header often. Gasoline in liquid form is actually not that volatile. Even the fumes are not that easy to autoignite with heat alone.

Static electricity is an issue, which is something you have to guard against with a motorcycle, and when refueling portable tanks, since the surrounding fumes can be ignited by a static arc.

In the case of this accident, if there were a lot of vapors present, either from refueling or from having the filters off, a spark or flame of some kind would be the most plausible cause of ignition, in my opinion.

The reason I ask and challenge the theories a little is to learn and prevent reoccurrence. I check the bilge, hoses, fluid levels, etc. every morning I am on the boat and never have ran the blowers before jumping down there. My belief has been once the hatch is open and I don't really smell anything, I don't need to worry about fumes. If his owner was in the bilge with the hatch wide open and in fact a spark ignited fumes (not fuel spilled on a hot engine), possibly my typical habits are not safe.

This one has me thinking about my procedures...

 

[rondds]

Here's my brush with disaster (well, not really). I'll chalk it up to E10 but feel free to postulate otherwise.

Starboard fuel fill hose. I filled the boat up prior to winter layup (as I always do). They blocked the boat, I covered it and went home. Came back a day or so later to the obvious smell of gasoline. Opened the hatches and found this hose to be wet at the point where it attaches to the fitting on the tank. When I squeezed the hose gas permeated from the split parts. I had to pump out 17g of gasoline to remove the hose and replace it. Much of this has to do with the boat being pitched UP when it is blocked (the fill is at the transom so gas was actually sitting in the hose). I will NO LONGER top off the tanks (til overflow). Never realized how the gas can fill the hose until it is burned off, esp with the bow raised.

Never ignore the smell of gasoline! Now that I think of it, was it wise to snap these pix? It wasn't an overwhelming stench of gasoline and I was situated high in the bilge, and gas fumes tend to fall to low points. Also, blowers were turned on and everything was open. But still...is this a case where something stupid was unwittingly done...?


Not a great pic but you can see the hose wet just aft of the hose clamps...

Autopsy photo...

Pumped the gas out with a plastic hand pump from Pep Boys. Conveniently, the hose it came with fit perfectly on the generator fuel line fitting.

 

[Westie]

Gasoline fumes have an ignition temperature of 232 C (495 F) so a hot engine isn't likely to ignite them. However liquid gasoline spilled on a hot engine will cause it to turn to vapor. It still needs an ignition source that is higher than 232 C though.

 

[Woody]

So some less experienced individual says 'my boats engine won't turn over' and part of the trouble shooting advice is....'take a screwdriver and jump the starter'. We're lucky there aren't more boat fires.