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.

God save us all from the tedious self congratulation of people who always know better and would never have done it.

People make mistakes and errors or judgement all the time; that's how accidents happen - human error.

Totally agree with you flippinada.

I don't think that's what many people are saying, infact plenty of people have said people make mistakes all the time, what there is an issue with is laying the blame on someone. This was an accident, very unfortunate but not the governments fault, not anyones fault, just as you said an accident.

The thing is theres always stories in the press in summer of blokes lighting bbqs with petrol and back draft igniting the can they are pouring it from. Its a stock story each year it happens so often.

Except obviously when a woman does it in the confines of what she thought of as normal rather than what a bloke did (i.e. Ill just nip inside and use the kitchen funnel - what can possibly go wrong? Rather than "hmm how to get that perfect flame on my steak...") she's vilified.

We all do something that appears obvious for one blindingly awful second and just about get away with it by the skin of our teeth and this woman got caught. Its dreadfully sad and I hope she comes through ok. Bless you all tonight.

Ill also stand up and say I have NO IDEA how to store petrol. (Why should I in my lifetime? I live in suburbia and theres no war on.) Honestly? Id have bought whatever B&Q suggested as a suitable canister or size and put it in my boot before getting around to storing it in my wooden shed.

I imagine thousands of others will do or are doing this also. If you are lucky they are not in flats. Thats why this is such a dumb ass thing for the government minister to say and why yes they should shoulder a portion of blame and think before speaking.

There's a bit of a difference between having 'no idea how to store petrol' and bringing a container of petrol into your kitchen where your gas hob is alight and pouring it from a can into a jug.

Perhaps loads of adults did not know that this is phenomenally dangerous? I can't think this is the case, but hopefully this will highlight the dangers & be a lesson..

The government can't legislate for this level of ignorance imo.

Perhaps loads of adults did not know that this is phenomenally dangerous?

I'm sure they didn't. It's the fumes not the petrol so pouring it into an open container is nuts but no reason for the majority of people to know this. I certainly did not get a demonstration at school and learned when lighting a bonfire - the fumes went up with a whoommfff, fortunately I was standing well back but could have been caught if I hadn't nipped out of the way.

We used to be warned not to use mobile phones in service stations but I haven't heard that warning for a while.

there are stickers on each pump, Josie, warning about switching off mobile phones, as well as hazardous material, flammable warnings etc.

People imagine it's the actual petrol that might go up.
Not that the fumes are so flammable.
People are not used to dealing with volatile gases.

Maude suggested people store amounts of petrol that exceeded the official safe levels.

It was a stupid thing to say.

I see a strong connection between the government's deliberate whipping up of a fuel shortage panic, and what happened to this woman.

They told people to stockpile fuel, in amounts that exceeded the official guidelines, they told people to keep their cars full and hence the huge queues everywhere.

I suspect this woman's daughter would not have been asking for petrol if there wasn't this big scare on.

It was a shitty thing for the government to do and there have been unintended consequences, this being one of them.

I find some of the comments on here spectacularly unsympathetic.

MN can be like this sometimes and I find it so shocking.

He didn't say cock about moving petrol from one receptacle to another in your kitchen whilst cooking. It's not his fault. It's a tragic stupid accident, nothing more.

I didn't say it was his fault.
I said he gave fucking stupid advice.
And that this accident would almost certainly not have happened if the govt hadn't deliberately provoked the panic.

Rhinos - of course Maude didn't intend people to start decanting petrol in kitchens, but that doesn't make it a phenomenally stupid thing to have told people to do. Telling the general population, irrespective of whether they have a shed or other outdoor storage, to have a can of petrol handy is obviously adding to fire risk. As the Fire Brigade have pointed out.

If this horrible accident is down to the petrol panic of the last few days in any way at all it is more connected with a rush on the pumps than Maude's terrible jerrycan faux pas. Had her dd not been unable to get petrol from the petrol station she wouldn't have been syphoning it from her Mum's car.

Yes, there was a MN-er whose 2 yo dd was terribly burned, and her DH too, when he used petrol to light a fire.

It's the insufferably smug sympathy-bypass posts that are getting me.

About how she must be really embarrassed at doing something so stupid. What? How can anyone imagine that a woman with 40% burns will be thinking that
That she should be up for a darwin award
And this over-riding sense from the thread that the stupid woman got what she deserved. About "hopefully" this will serve as a warning to others. The language and vibe off much of this thread is frankly quite upsetting

This woman might die, and if she lives will be in massive pain and need extensive surgery. Her life has been ruined, because she was trying to help her daughter and did something (yes) really stupid. Her neighbours are having to have counselling after seeing her burning in the street, desperately trying to remove her clothes. They will live with those images for life as well, I would imagine. Her family will be utterly traumatised, especially her daughter I would imagine.

But yes there's always time for a bit of smuggery isn't there.

I really don't think anyone is suggesting she deserved anything. You're looking to take offence where none exists.

There are scores of posts on this thread from people expressing no sympathy whatsoever, calling her fucking stupid, and all the rest of it. Darwin awards. Hopefully this will act as a lesson to others (WTF?). She must be so embarrassed.

I am not looking to take offence, why would I be.

What I am is upset at yet another incidence of good old MN putting the boot in on a really distressing situation.

The scene you describe of the woman in the street is horrific. God knows whether any of us would remember what the right thing to do is in a similar emergency - but I wish she'd managed to remember to drop and roll. The whole thing is like a 'how not to' manual. Appalling - hideous for her, her family and her neighbours.

SQ, MN is a discussion forum. We all have different views, to which we are all entitled. Stop wasting your energy being outraged at other people's opinions. It's a fact of life that we will all have differing views. Have the wisdom to know and accept this.

No doubt about it, what she did was daft, but some people are. Even the very educated can lack in common sense. My lad has dyspraxia and some of the things he does are mind blowing in the stupidity stakes, he can be a real danger to himself at times.

Poor woman

Jasmine, don't be so patronising. SardineQueen is absolutely right.

Your posts were some of the most unfeeling and cruel. I don't understand why you are seeking to ignore this. I won't say justify as you haven't even tried to.

It makes me feel sick.

I'll save my sympathy for people who are suffering through no fault of their own.

Oh, right you are.