In a message dated 2/19/2000 2:55:58 AM Eastern Standard Time,
pixelsmith@gerardsgarage.com writes:
<< Several years ago, a guy on the next block behind my house was fooling
with a motorcycle fuel line in his garage. His water heater ignited the
vapors and torched the house completely and encompassed serious damage to
the two adjacent homes. He died in the fire. When my daughter was only a
couple years old, her care provider's husband decided to work on leaking
fuel line on their VW Rabbit while in the garage. He crawled under the car
with a table lamp to see what he was doing. He accidentally broke the bulb
and it ignited the fuel. He burned his arms in the process, but the worst
part was that my daughter was alseep in the back seat, strapped in a car
seat. Fortunately, his wife had the presence of mind to make rescuing my
daughter from the car as her first priority. My daughter (who is now 14)
was not hurt, but I'm sure it was only a matter of seconds to disaster.
Their home was seriously damaged also.
I haven't been the same since however. So, your concern is well founded and
very real. That's another reason I didn't want to put fuel in the gas tank
yet.
>>
Guys: We don't say it enough about being extremely careful out there. While
these are our toys, and we get off driving them, working on them, cussing
them sometimes, and generally having fun with them, they are still machines.
Machines that have many hazards relating to fire, injury, inhalation damage.
I catch myself from time to time going a short-cut route and taking a
chance--I have to conciously tell myself at every step to take care of the
safety first! Thanks for postings like these, and like the recent ones about
inhalation injury, that outline the tragedy that might come any time we
sidline common sense safety rules.
I wanna meet you all someday at some juncture (only 3 of us going to Conclave
in July?), so please mentally go over the safety points every time you open
the hood, jack it up, or sit behing the wheel! Pleeeeeze????
--David C.
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