Man Tried To Put Out Cigarette In Bowl Of Paint Thinner, Burned House Down

[matcom]

<snip>

DENVER, N.C. --A man taking a break from painting burned down his house after trying to snuff out a cigarette in a bowl of paint thinner.

Stevie Spencer had put the bowl on his coffee table before taking a smoke break about 10 p.m. Saturday.

"I forgot paint thinner was in the bowl," Spencer said. "I thought it was water."

The fire from the paint thinner ignited some papers, Spencer said. He got his wife out of the house, then tried to extinguish the flames with a hose. Spencer suffered minor injuries.

Fire Chief Jay Flynn said the house was too far gone to save it when firefighters arrived.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/05/15/paint_thinner_cigarette_error_causes_fire?mode=PF

[Coventina]

1. Well, that's one way of getting out of your "honey-do" list!

:rofl:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Darwin, anyone?

:rofl:

[ContraBass Black]

3. So, was that a "boom," or a "whoosh?"

:D

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Neither

Paint thinner CANNOT detonate, and will only conflagrate under specific, pressurized conditions. And, if it was in an open container in the room, it can't be pressurized.

Like i said in another post, i don't believe this guy. I think he did something FAR stupider than put a cigarette out in paint thinner.
The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

4. I Don't Believe Him

Paint thinner does not have the vapor pressure or the flammability range to ignite from having a cigarette pushed into it. It's not like gasoline. The intrisic energy per mole is about half of gasoline, the vapor pressure is only about 60% of gasoline, and without vapors above the liquid, it can't ignite. You can light a match and dump a cup of GASOLINE on it and put it out. LIQUID solvents don't burn. The vapor above the liquid at a given temperature is what burns.

The options are: This guy did something incredibly stupid and figured that was a little less dumb a thing to which to admit. Or, he was using gasoline as a thinner, spilled some, so there was a lot of surface for a little mass, and then dropped the cigarette on to it.

The story, as told, is too full of holes.
The Professor

[Submariner]

6. As an Arson apprentice

when I was about 12 I was showing a friend how to make fire and small explosions with the Gilbert chemistry set I got for Xmas. After that we found paint thinner and poured enough out to fill the cap. Wow! that stuff ignites. So much so, it startled us and one of us, me I think, knocked over the can of thinner and I had a raging fire going in my Grandpa's cellar next to the coal bin quicker than you can say "Boy...am I gonna get a beatin' for this". :nuke:

Anyway, the fire dept arrived and little was destroyed or lost, but to support your case, I do remember it looked like there was a gap between the liquid thinner spreading across the concrete cellar floor and the flame itself (the vapor).

I switched my interests to biology from chemistry after that so I would be less likely to kill myself in an explosion or fire later in life.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. I'm Still A Chemist

My original advanced degree is in theoretical organic chemistry. (Basically quantum theory with carbon molecules!)

I looked up the actual numbers in Sax, which is the "bible" of chemical hazards. I stand by my original statement.
The Professor

[Submariner]

10. theoretical organic chemistry

I dated a woman from Tulane majoring in that area. Last I saw of her she was working on developing a polymer-based artificial liver...fascinating stuff. My job now is monitoring the effects of chemicals and bacteria on fish and coral, thus no fire hazard involved....just depressing watching the decline in balanced indigenous populations.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Do You Know Much About. . .

. . .the breakdown effect of ethoxylated alkylphenols. There are studies ongoing, but the last i heard there was talk about their being phased out, because one of the breakdown products of natural biodegradation was a set of biochems that mimicked estrogens.

Supposed to be causing some genderbending among various aquatic and amphibian species.

Heard about this?
The Professor

[Submariner]

13. I have read a little about it

but my group has not investigated it yet. We may though. We're just developing a program to monitor the biota in the vicinity of the large ocean wastewater outfalls off the coast of Puerto Rico. It just so happens that the majority of discharge comes from the pharmaceutical companies that dot the island, so the findings could be quite interesting.

[Haole Girl]

5. Some people...

Sigh..

[formerrepuke]

7. Also keep in mind: Don't put paint thinner in a styrofoam container..

it'll eat right through it- found that out the hard way.

[GOPisEvil]

12. As someone who works in insurance claims, this is NOT uncommon.

You would not BELIEVE the stupid things people do.