TurnThePage wrote:
Link? I always hear this type of story, but I don't think I've ever seen it actually corroborated.
I wish I could provide a link; I actually looked before posting this because I knew folks might be skeptical or dismissive. But this happened sometime, to the best of my recollection, between 1999 and 2003. It was in Wythe County, VA at a station off an exit ramp of I-81. "Googling" what I know only turns up some more recent unfortunate gas station incidents in Virginia, but these are not RV related. I was working at the time with two of the firefighters who worked this incident, who I trust completely, and I remember reading for myself the news accounts of this event when it happened and then a little later when the unfortunate gentleman died. I also remember that this whole scenario was being debated here on RV.net even back then, and it caught my attention because I thought to myself, "Well, that proves it can happen". I am not sure there are links to the average news stories at the beginning of the century; maybe someone slicker than I am can find it in an archive of the local paper, The Roanoke Times?.
Vapor density (gasoline vapor being heavier than air) is only part of the equation; who among us hasn't smelled gasoline vapor while standing at full height at some time in their life? Anyone who has been in emergency services for a while will tell you that most catastrophic incidents don't have one single direct cause; there is usually a whole series or chain of events that lead to an incident. I certainly don't want to be one of the contributing factors in the injury or death of someone else, especially if I know better and can do something to prevent that possibility. I understand that others may not see the risk as significant enough to worry about, but I do.
Safe travels, all!
Regan
