The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1909-09-30
THE DANGER
IN GASOLINE
Many People Killed and Immense
Loss by Fire Every Year
BY its Use


by a gasolene explosion.
The igniting of the vapor from
gasolene, burns to death more than
twenty persons every week and dam
gerouslv burns more than sixty. It's
burns are so deep that they leave
ugly scars. 1t has marred the beau
ty of many a maiden but most of
the burned were mothers.
The gasolene sounds a fire alarm
in advance and the blistered person
whose carelessness caused the ex-
plosion, runs screaming for help.
This brings neighbors and the fire
department at once. The fact that
the alarm is given quickly, and the
added fact that the heat from an
explosion is sustained but for an in
slant so that only light materials in
which a blaze is easily extinguished
are fired by it. make the average
loss from gasolene fired but $3.50,
which is less than one-fourth the av-
erage cost of all fires. Still the an
nual loss from gasolene fires approx
mates 81. OO0, 900.
Gasoline IS the lightest and most
dangerous fluid derived from petro-
leum. Naptha, which is little less
dangerous, is usually called gaso-
lene. Both continuously give off a
vaper that makes an explosive Of the
air with which it mixes.
A canful Of air or a roomful of
air, which has mixed in it as much
as one-twelth of the vapor of gaso-
line. is more dangerous than a can
full or roomful of gunpowder. Air
with that much or more gasolene
vapor in it explodes harder and
makes a hotter blaze than gunpow-
der. Gunpowder will stay where it
is put aud a be seen. Gasoline
vapor being a little heavier than air
falls to the floor and cannot be seen.
In very rare instances gasolene ex-
p~sosions have occurred next the cell
ing. This is possible when the air
of the room is saturated with mois-
ture. as on wash day so the vapor
will float in it.
If a painful Of gasolene is left in a
closed room for a few hours, the
house is blown to pieces as soon as a
match is struck in the room, or if a
flying spark enters it. When vapor
on the floor spreads until it gets I'M
der a gas get, the lamp or stove, it
is drawn up by a current of air
made py the heat of the blaze. and
there is an expulsion. All other ig-
nitable gasses being lighter than air
rise and are born away on the wind.
Gasoline cleans grease from leath-
er and silk much better than any
other fluid which can be bought for
little money. Grease melts in the
gasolene and is carried away. So
mothers and daughters use it for
washing gloves and ribbons and par
ty dresses.
One who has used gasolene for
any purpose in a room in which
there is a candle. lamp, or fire. is
likely, very likely, to be badly burn
ed. A lighted cigar or a pipe car
ried into a room in which it is being
used, will explode the air. The
ghost-like vapor will hunt for some
thing to ignite it.
A beautiful girl of fifteen cleaned
her long kid gloves on a porch and
had them on her hands drying. Her
brother, as he left the house, struck
a match to light a cigar. In the
explosion which followed one of her
arms was so deeply burned that she
can never straighten it, and her face
is disfigured for life.
A man who had a pipe in his
mouth while pouring gasolene from
one can to another. was badly burn
ed by an explosion.
Gasoline should only be used for
washing out of doors and away from
buildings and smokers. When the
washing is done the gasolene should
be thrown on loose ground which
will drink it up at once. Several
explosions have come from pouring
the dirty gasolene down the hole in
the sink. A large number have
come from pouring it in the slop
bucket where it hoated and gave off
vapor.
Putting gasolene in the water in
a x,,ock {lcskey b.,