Woman badly burned decanting petrol

[Blu]

here

Horrific.

It doesn't sound ilke a 'jerrycan' incident, but I hope there are no more like it over the coming weeks. Safer to stay put than store petrol or be pouring, syphoning or decanting it.

When did better safe than sorry go out of fashion?

The rules AFAIK are:

Don't keep petrol in your house.
Don't throw it onto a BBQ just because it is not burning well enough.
Ditto for your bonfire (recalls the Casualty episode)
If you can see a heat source that is on/potentially on and you're messing with petrol - don't.
And if you are not sure or even slightly worried - don't.

It's very sad that the lady has been hurt, but we really shouldn't need government infomercials. It is perfectly sensible to store a bit of extra fuel just in case when there is a potential shortage. Advice to do so is sensible or you may find you don't have enough in the tank for that run to the hospital when in labour, etc.

No "just a little bit in a 20litrejerry can in the garage"

www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/kent/factsheets/FS40NEW%20nov07%20petrolhome.pdf

And he never said to stockpile it - he said it would be a good idea to have some in a jerry can (which I was fascinated to learn from the FBU was apparently a huge container,, as I always thought a jerry can was one of those watering can sized red containers that even I can carry).

I wonder what Francis Maude meant then when he suggested people fill up a jerrycan, as a jerry can holds 20 litres of fuel?

I'm sure all the sensible people here who know all about petrol don't have to be told that 20 litres of petrol can fuel a pretty alarming fire.

There are several people seriously burned every year when they light barbecues with petrol rather than something more stable. Either the fumes ignite and there's an explosion, or the flames blow back and their clothing catches fire.
Every year there are warnings about it, yet there are always those that don't know how incredibly dangerous it is.

My dad's red container (which may or may not be a jerry can ) only took 5 litres.

"When did better safe than sorry go out of fashion?"

In the last few days, I'd say.

@Tiago... I thought I kept my petrol in a 5 litre 'jerry-can' as well. Apparently it's a 'petrol can'... subtle difference. Five litres can get a pretty big fire going, of course. The woman in hospital this afternoon was using a jug and not a can, jerry or otherwise....

It is like that idiot Simon Jenkins on QT last night 'oh if the Government hadn't told me not to panic, then I wouldn't have panicked and gone out and filled up my car'. WTF?

yes, Maude did mention jerry cans.

and everyone since that moment - on the tv news, on the radio, in the street, in newspapers - has pointed out that he should not have done so.

and he has apologised, and admitted his mistake (again, reported several times over)

I don't even watch tv that often, and I have seen 3 separate reports explaining the size and type of can that should be used, and how it should be stored. let alone the explanations in the radio I have heard (I spend a lot of time in the car - usually have radio 2 on, so not exactly in-depth or highbrow)

no one has been able to move without tripping over reasons why fuel shoudl not be stored in the home, or explanations of permissible limits etc.

someone upthread bemoaned the lack of public information broadcasts - they were useful, and several have stuck in my mind since I was terrified by them as a child first saw them.

but every year there are warnings about how to light the barbecue, or how not to light the bonfire, etc. there are 'informative' episodes of things like Casualty, or Doctors. there are articles in newspapers and magazines.

I don't think there is a lack of information out there, tbh.

I would hope I wouldn't do what this woman did. [Obviously not now!].
However I am capable of being ditsy and may not have thought of the vapour if some one said pour us a little petrol.
I think I would have done it outside but who knows..
Hope she recovers poor woman.

"I don't think there is a lack of information out there, tbh."

You're right, and yet these incidents still happen.

I'm sure the woman who was injured didn't believe she was doing anything particularly risky, or even weighed up the risks and thought no, it'll be fine.

This horrific accident highlights just how dangerous petrol is.

She has 40% burns so she won't make a good recovery - sorry about that but here's the news. Petrol burns and burns v.well especially in a closed space with a naked flame. Would she have gone looking for a gas leak using a naked flame? Just stupidity.

blimey only on mn would you get such cold hearted responses

i hope she recovers quickly and fully

unfortunately it usually takes a case like this to educate people rather than it being common knowledge

Agree SEA. She must have been utterly terrified and in so much pain. Poor woman.

I remember my idiot neighbour welding his petrol tank in his garage that still had petrol in. Then he remembered the petrol, opened the petrol cap and had a look inside the tank. Decided there wasn't a lot in there, put the cap back on and restarted welding. Did not end well. The flames must have been 20ft high.

The BBC showed the footage of what Maude said to camera: and it was "a jerry can in the garage". I think he was wrong to have said it, but I think all the commentators who misquoted him as saying "at home" share in this, especially as the FBU advice was also readily available so quickly after he spoke.

The media like to justify their action as being in the public interest. Well, perhaps they should have followed their own rhetoric and reported the correct advice. The desire to bash a minister should not trump the public interest in promoting safety.

The poor woman is in a serious condition. I wish her well and Hooe for her recovery.

If she had known it was stupid, she wouldn't have done it.

Edith - the media DID report the correct advice - reporting of Francis Maude's inept remarks was accompanied by comments pointing out quite how stupid it was. Don't try to twist this into 'the media's too blame' - quite clearly it's the government that is to blame, issuing dangerous and contradictory 'advice' in a desperate attempt to make political capital out of industrial unrest.

Trust a Tory minister to fail to grasp that many people don't even have garages, let alone country estates with a separate building a safe distance from the main house to keep all those luxury vehicles.

Typical of this government's lack of attention to detail - they really are a bunch of incompetent buffoons. They make Boris look scarily efficient.

Pointing out media responsibility to the public interest is not twisting. It is an important factor. I saw some reporting on FBU advice, but it could and should have been given far greater prominence before this tragedy.

The media DID report the FBU advice and has made much of how stupid Maude was. He's the one who has displayed a lack of responsibility.

oh come on
no one feels anything but sympathy for the woman that was hurt and of course wishes her a speedy recovery.

But she was in a kitchen, cooking and transferring petrol from one container to another......(Obviously I am taking ths from news reports)
not exactly clever.

but lets blame the government.
so when do adults take responsibility for their own actions?

{disclaimer I hate this government}