Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-09-28
DANGER FROM GASOLINE.

Gasoline, unlike the heavier pc
troleum products, throws off an ex-
plosive vapor constantly even at tx
tremely low temperatures. Five gal
Ions of gasoline will generate 5000
cubic feet of gas, which, when ig-
nited, expands to 1000 times this
space. The explosive force Of one
gallon of gasoline properly mixed
with air and compressed is equal to
SO 2-3 pounds of dynamite or IA
times greater than dynamite. This
means that If you have 100 gal
Ions Of gasoline on hand, you are
storing the equivalent in explosive
force to 1886 pounds Of dynamite.
IGasoline is, in fact. more dangerous
to handle than dynamite, as there is
more liability of an explosion. Dy-
Mantle will only explode from two
or three causes which may Compare
lively speaking) be easily guarded
against and which must occur in its
immediate vicinity. q
The vapor from gasoline is heav-
Ter than air. 1t settles to the floor
and runs along. the floor much as a
stream Of water would only that il
is an invisible stream. This vapor
mill co++la ,rd ramoin IN a dopror-
sion in the floor or under the floor
for days and even weeks, unless dis
turbed by a circulation of air, until
a spark causes the accumulated va
por to explode. This spark does not
necessarily have to come from a
lighted fire, but may occur throug
a person striking a nail in their
shoe on a nail in the floor, or other
unavoidable causes. The records show
that under certain atmospheric con-
ditions spontaneous combustion will
occur in this accumulated vapor. A
case is on record in which the gaso-
line fumes were carried outside Of a
building to a lighted lamp thirty feet
away from the building, taking fire,
and flashing back to the building,
which was entirely consumed.
The silent and invisible creeping
of this vapor from place to place
awaiting favorable conditions to
strike the blow that means loss of
life and property is a terrible thing
to think of. When you consider how
helpless one is and how wholly at
the mercy of this insidious foe, too
much stress cannot be laid upon the
necessity for evaporation-proof, fire.
proof vented storage tanks. Consider
your attitude toward an assassin or
~incendiary bent upon the destruc-
ton of life or property. Consider
such a fiend lurking unseen for days
about your place of business await
ing the favorable moment to strike
the blow that will destroy or MAIN
lone dear to you and wipe your bust
ness out OF existence. III you are
handling gasoline in any way but
1.-THE right way, you are in lust this
position and you an foresee
when the blow will fall.
1t is past understanding, in view
of these facts, that many merchants
with their entire capital invested in
1.-THE business, will give SO little
Thought to safeguarding their inter-
tests. With the store heated by stoves
or a furnace in the basement, they
will at nigh lock up this explosive
in a warehouse or building adjacent
to, or connected with, the store. At
ter locking up fire and this explosive
vapor together, they will in effect
wager their entire investment against
the merely nominal expense of fire.
proof stcsage that this vapor and fire
will not get together.-L. r. Murray.