SERIOUS EXPLOSION OF GASOLINE.
Chief F. B. Trusty, of Fort Dodge, Ia., sends the following description of a serious explosion caused by the careless use of gasoline, which resulted in the death of the individual who tampered with it. As many accidents occur through the reckless use of this dangerous explosive, it might be well for those unacquainted with it to note how easily serious trouble may be caused by want of proper care in its handling. Chief Trusty reports that F’rcd Francis, a bartender in Colby Brothers’ saloon, poured a thimbleful of gasoline into a stove on January 25 last. It immediately exploded, setting fire to his clothing and caused such serious injuries to his person that he died a few hours afterwards. Two explosions occurred —the first at the gasoline lighting plant on the premises and the other in a five-gallon can nearly full of the oil. The first explosion resulted in the total wrecking of the fixtures in the saloon; the second destroyed a door that opened inwards and demolished the plateglass window of the place, shattering it into fragments. By the prompt action of the department tire fire was confined to the interior of the place in which the explosions occurred. When gasoline is used, too much care cannot be observed when a light is brought near the vessel in which it is carried. The gas that escapes from the mixture is likely to catch fire a distance away, with the most disastrous results. A short time ago a woman, while using gasoline to clean furniture at her home in Staten Island, N. Y., inadvertently held a light some distance above the cup containing it, which caused an explosion, setting fire to her clothing, so that she was dreadfully burned and died in great agony the following day. These are only two cases of the many similar accidents that frequently occur by the careless use of gasoline by persons not acquainted with its dangerous nature.
