David Sparkes Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Posted because plenty of Land Rover drivers are keen on LPG fuelled vehicles. LPG car explodes as driver lights cigarette ... a miraculous escape when his LPG-powered car exploded in a fireball as he lit a cigarette. "Mr Tidbury has ruled out buying another LPG car" We can smile about this because ... "When I walked past that car to get in the ambulance I thought that was not survivable. For me it is miraculous." IE, he walked away. Full story (with picture) at : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/332910...-cigarette.html Peter Tidbury had just filled his Peugeot 607 with 40 litres of gas at a service station and was driving at around 30mph. He could smell gas in the car and passed it off as remnants from the petrol station, but it was in fact a cloud of fuel in the cabin. Mr Tidbury decided to smoke a cigarette and the second he ignited the lighter, its flame sparked a fireball. The windows were blown out and the bonnet and boot were thrown open by the force of the blast. Nearby householders were evacuated for fear of a further explosion and the windscreen was discovered 50 feet away. His clothes melted on him and firefighters believe he survived serious injury or death because the seats took the force of the explosion. He had bought the car privately for £5,000 three weeks earlier, and two garage checks gave it a clean bill of health before he got behind the wheel. Mr Tidbury, 55, an energy-saving company manager, who needed hospital treatment for minor flash burns, said: "It just wasn't my day to die." Mr Tidbury, a widower from south-east London, drove to northern England last weekend to visiting his daughter and friends. After visiting a website to locate a filling station selling LPG, he filled up in Monk Bretton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He said: "I was told you get a slight smell of gas when you fill up so thought nothing of it and wound the window down to freshen the air, then wound it put it back up again. "I fancied a fag so wound the window down again slightly and then lit up. I was doing about 30mph and as I lit the cigarette there was an almighty explosion. "The windows went out, the bonnet went up and the boot went up just as you see in the Hollywood movies. I was belted in and braked sharply. I can't remember this but I was told that I was directing traffic around the car whilst my suit jacket was still smoking. "The fireball singed me on my face, hands and legs and melted my jacket lining and some of my shirt. I looked as if a firework had exploded in my face." It is thought a leak in the pipe from the filler to the fuel tank allowed gas to seep into the car which ignited when he lit up. He added: "When I walked past that car to get in the ambulance I thought that was not survivable. For me it is miraculous." Mr Tidbury has ruled out buying another LPG car and intends to quit smoking. Fire station watch manager Neil McQuillan said: "The car looked like a hand grenade had gone off in it. How anyone can survive an explosion like that when the car is severely damaged is remarkable really." What problems have you survived this week? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Now, if he'd bought a diesel ... Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 I spent the night in hospital about 5-years ago after being blasted in the face with ignited diesel fumes. It took all the hair off my face and it was really sore for a few days. It was probably the most stupid thing I ever did - ever. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 I spent the night in hospital about 5-years ago after being blasted in the face with ignited diesel fumes. It took all the hair off my face and it was really sore for a few days.It was probably the most stupid thing I ever did - ever. Les. Out of interest, what did you do? Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Peter Tidbury had just filled his Peugeot 607 with 40 litres of gas at a service station and was driving at around 30mph.He could smell gas in the car and passed it off as remnants from the petrol station, but it was in fact a cloud of fuel in the cabin. Mr Tidbury decided to smoke a cigarette and the second he ignited the lighter, its flame sparked a fireball. The windows were blown out and the bonnet and boot were thrown open by the force of the blast. Surely he would have thought it a bad idea to smoke a cigarette when he could smell gas in the cabin? regardless of thinking it could be remnants from the petrol station - the gas is still there!? matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Clearly, the LPG system was not in good condition or was badly fitted, there should be no possible way for LPG fumes to enter the cabin from either the filler, the tank or the pipework. To smell gas and then to light a cigarette.... how can you be THAT stupid?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 He just missed out on a Darwin Award, shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 He just missed out on a Darwin Award, shame. My thought exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T1G UP Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Smoking kills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 True - it was a fag lighter that did it for me - along with the aforementioned stupidity. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 David I presume with a name like yours an LPG is out of the question! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 David I presume with a name like yours an LPG is out of the question! John It's funny you should say that. (And it's better than magic piano jokes!) I started running LPG in June 2001 - LPG as a supplement to Diesel. I stopped this in March 2004. Since then I've run 'pure' Diesel. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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