The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-06-04
ALWAYS DANGER
IN GASOLINE.
Must be Handled With
Greatest Care, Auto Ex-
pert Declares

Familiarity with gasoline should
not make one less cautious of the
dangers attending its USE" says Will
liam H. Stewart, Jr., we'll known eng
ineer, who in The st. Paul Sunday
Pioneer Press give advice to motor
lists.
while it is well to know the safe
side of gasoline, it is. far more inn
portant to know the dangerous side.
People who handle gasoline con-
tinually are apt to overlook the fact
that danger is always present, lurk-
ing unseen, but ready to work harm
as soon as the conditions are right
for an explosion or a fire.
Probably the greatest danger comes
from the fact that the vapor is very
heavy and colorless. Since it cannot
be seen there is little indication of it's
presence. 1t may accumulate at the bot
tom of a closed room or on the floor
of garage until some one drops a
lighted match and sets fire to it. When
allowed to accumulate in this manner
its explosive power is tremendous.
have seen the walls of brick build
ing blown out as the result of an ac-
emulation of gasoline vapor in the
cellar. A lighted match caused the
trouble.
Keep Place Ventilated.
ct is evident, then, that care must
be taken to avoid such accumulation.
Keep the premises ventilated SO that
the vapor will be dissipated as fast as
1t is formed. Do not spin gasoline. be-
ing especially careful while filling
tanks. One Of the most dangerous de-
vices is a gasoline sprayer, used in
cleaning the motor. 1t should never be
used in garage and is not safe even
in the open air. The operator sprays
the gasoline on different parts of the
engine as he uses the brush. BY this
process enormous quantities Of vapor
form, which travel to a considerable
distance seeking flame. The operator
cannot help breathing some OF the
mixture, which is injurious; likewise,
If flame starts he stands every chance
of severe injury.
ITO show the dangerous quality Of
gasoline provide test tube and test
tube holder, a small tin cover or box,
such as a half-ounce ointment box.
Fill the test tube one-half with gaso-
line and pour some into the tin cover,
setting fire to it. Boil the gasoline in
the flame. As it heats the air is driven
out and soon the invisible vapor begins
to pour out Nothing is seen until sud-
denly a flame starts from the one In
the tin cover and runs here and there
over the table. The vapor has ignited
and shown its presence by the flame
The test tube catches fire. but this
may be extinguished by the breath.
This is a safe experiment to try, and
it shows the danger from this heavy
invisible vapor which creeps along the
floor.
IF gasoline is to be kept in the
house or in the garage the tempera-
ture Of the place should be as nearly
uniform as possible. This avoids any
dangerous vapor pressure which will
force gasoline out Of the tank or might
even cause q leak. OF course the best
is an underground tank. as that is cold
all the year round and so is not open
to the above objection.
Especial care should be taken to
prevent splitting gasoline while filling
tanks One experience had will serve
as an example. The garage man flied
the tank in my absence, splitting the
gasoline literally all over the tank
and under the seat. He replaced the
cushion carefully. When the engine was
started the flames around the tank rose
higher than the roof OF the car. For
tunateIv there were several extinguish-
ers handy and several men to handle
them or the car would have been a
total loss At present there are not
many cars with tanks under the seat,
but the danger is almost equally great
in filling a tank at the rear Of g. car,
as the flame from the exhaust can
reach ii more readily. So be properly
warned Of the dangers OF gasoline and
handle 1t with caution"