The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1913-01-23
State Fire Marshal Warns Gasoline
Consumers.

life and the fire waste due to gasoline
fires and explosions, this department
acting under authority of the state fire
marshal law, requires all gasoline in
excess Of five gallons to be kept "either
in an approved under ground tank,
buried not less than two feet, ten feet or
more from any building, equipped with
standard pump, or in substantial,
metal storage tank, housed in separate
building of fre-proof material and coz
struction, ventilated at top and bottom
and located at least twenty-five feet
from any other building"
That the public may more fully un-
derstand the nature of gasoline, we
quote from most excellent article by
l.. p. Murray, published in ''Fire Pre-
yention":
Gasoline unlike the heavier petrol
cum products, throws oil an explosive
vapor constantly even at extremely
low temperatures. Five gallons Of gas
oline will generate 5000 cubic feet Of
gas which, when ignited expands to
1000 times this space. The explosive
force of one gallon of gasoline properly
mixed with air and compressed is equal
to S35 pounds of dynamite or fourteen
times greater than dynamite. This
means, Mr.. Merchant, that if you have
100 gallons of gasoline on hand you are
storing the equivalent in explosive
force to S,366 pounds of dynamite. Gas
oline is, in fact, more dangerous to
handle than dynamite, as there is more
| liability of an explosion. Dynamite
will only explode from two or three
causes, which may Comparatively
speaking), be easily guarded against
and which must occur in its immediate
vicinity.
"The vapor from gasoline is heavier
than air. 1t set ties to the floor and runs
along tn floor much as a stream of
water would, only that it is an invisible
stream. This vapor will settle and re-
main in "A depression in the floor or un-
der the floor for days even weeks, un-
less disturbed by circulation of air,
until Il spark causes the accumulated
vapor to explode, This spark does not
necessarily have To come from a lighted
fire, but may occur through person
striking a nail in their shoe on a nail
in the floor or other similar unavoid-
able causes. The records show that
under certain atmospheric conditions
spontaneous combustion will occur in
this accumulated yapor. A case is on
record in which the gasoline fumes
were carried outside of building to a
lighted lamp thirty feet away from the
building, taking fire, and flashing back
to the building which was entirely CON
sumed.
"The silent and invisible creeping of
this vapor from place to place await
ing favorable conditions to strike the
blow that means loss Of life and prop
erty, is terrible thing to think Of.
When yon consider how helpless one is
and how wholly at the mercy of this in
sidious foe, too much stress cannot be
laid upon the necessity for evaporation-
proof, iire-prOot vented storage tanks.
Consider your attitude toward an ass
ASSN or incendiary bent upon the deS-
truction of life or property. Consider
such a lend lurking unseen for days
about your place Of business awaiting
the favorable moment to strike the
blow that will destroy or main one
dear to you and wipe your business out
Of existence, II you are handling gaso
line in any way but the right way, you
are in just this position and you can
never loresee when the blow will fall
sit is past understanding, in view Of
these facts, that many merchants with
their entire capital invested in the
business, will give so little thought tt
safeguarding their interests. With
the store heated 10y stoves or IA furnace
in the basement they will at night lock
up this explosive in warehouse OF
building adjacent to, or connected witt
the store. After lock- ny up fire ant
this explosive vapor together, they vii
in effect wager their entire investment
against the merely nominal expense O
lre-proof storage, that this vapor anC
this fire will not get together"
y. NJ, PURTELL
State Fire Marshal