Gas explosion on a boat moored on the Great Ouse in Ely.

[nbfiresprite]

A child and two adults have been burned after an explosion on a boat this morning (April 24).

A Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue spokesman said: “At 8:49am on Tuesday (April 24) one crew from Ely, three crews from Cambridge and one crew from Newmarket in Suffolk were called to an incident near Willow Walk in Ely.

“Firefighters arrived to find a gas cylinder had exploded on a boat.

“Three casualties required treatment for burns and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

“The crews ensure the area was safe and returned to their stations by 10.30am.

 

[Cheshire cat]

Without knowing the circumstances you must have to try seriously hard to explode a gas cylinder on a boat unless it was one of the little camping gaz ones. I hope more information will be forthcoming.

[Athy]

My second thought also, CC - my first being that I hope the casualties make a full recovery.

[Flyboy]

http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-04-24/four-injured-in-boat-explosion-on-fenland-waterway/

[cuthound]

Hope the people are ok and make a full recovery.

I would have expected far more damage to the boat if a gas cylinder had exploded.

Perhaps it was a small one used for heating gas powered curling tongs or something  similar?

Edited April 24, 2018 by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect

[zenataomm]

I'd have thought even the smallest Calor type gas cylinder would have devastated that boat.

I have one of the very small camper stoves that take a small cylinder the size of a lighter refill cartridge.  You shove them in the side and twist a knob that forces it into place against a rubber seal and then locks.  I use it every two years when my boat is on the bank for blacking, and I heat my bitumen up on it.

I'd never light it on board the boat as I have experienced others not get a tight seal and gas erupt from underneath.  That plus the automatic ignition on them as you turn the burner on can easily result in a fire ball. I imagine a back flash could detonate the canister?

Sympathies with the owners.

[Naughty Cal]

Hope all of those involved are ok.

I was surprised to see the picture of the boat as there appears to be very little damage from the outside.

It has to have been a portable gas appliance. A Calor or similar cylinder exploding would have caused far more damage then that. The boat that set on fire at Burton Waters last year had a cylinder fire through the side of the hull 

[Boater Sam]

Calor and other gas cylinders have a meltable vent plug these days, if they get over hot they vent. To actually rupture the container is very difficult.

[Horace42]

46 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

I'd never light it on board the boat as I have experienced others not get a tight seal and gas erupt from underneath.  That plus the automatic ignition on them as you turn the burner on can easily result in a fire ball. I imagine a back flash could detonate the canister?

Sympathies with the owners.

Same here. I hope the injuries are not llife-changing. I guess the gas leaked to reach the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) then ignited enough to flare up and burn anyone within reach - but not enough to explode with catastrophic force. 

The lack of explosive damage seems to suggest a fairly simple gas heating device without any safety controls - unlike the new gas appliances that must have a flame failure device or an auto-ignition device to prevent unburnt gas flowing into the air. Because if it did it would reach the Upper Explosive Limit (UEL) like in an enclosed boat - but in itself not then flammable (too rich) even with a source of ignition - until a source of oxygen becomes  available (opening doors and windows for fresh air) thus diluted below the UEL then  BOOM! - enough force to blow the boat apart!

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2018 by Horace42
typo

[ditchcrawler]

We use to blow the small ones up on fire fighting courses, the "Gaz" type that sit under the burner and are pierced as you fit them, if you remove them when they still have gas in them they leak. We use to piece the top and ignite the escaping gas which would burn for some time until the point where the flame went down into the cylinder, then they went bang.

[Horace42]

16 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

We use to blow the small ones up on fire fighting courses, the "Gaz" type that sit under the burner and are pierced as you fit them, if you remove them when they still have gas in them they leak. We use to piece the top and ignite the escaping gas which would burn for some time until the point where the flame went down into the cylinder, then they went bang.

That takes me back many years long before Gaz type appliances. The old 'town gas' cookers - where if they leaked - you died from carbon monoxide poisoning before blowing up - but were good for the old schoolboy trick to take a tin can - make a small hole in the base - turn it upside down over the gas ring - turn the gas on gently for a short while to fill the tin - turn the gas ring off - light the gas coming out of the hole - and stand back.

Timing of ignition was important. Too soon and it 'popped' immediately or too late and the gas around the base of the tin flared up as well. 

[Cheshire cat]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

My second thought also, CC - my first being that I hope the casualties make a full recovery.

Whenever I see the aftermath of any kind of accident I hope those involved are OK. I didn't see the need to state it but the thought was there.

[Nut]

hope they all get better real soon

[canals are us?]

Hope all 3 make a speedy recovery and no long term effects.

James.

[artleknock]

1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

That takes me back many years long before Gaz type appliances. The old 'town gas' cookers - where if they leaked - you died from carbon monoxide poisoning before blowing up - but were good for the old schoolboy trick to take a tin can - make a small hole in the base - turn it upside down over the gas ring - turn the gas on gently for a short while to fill the tin - turn the gas ring off - light the gas coming out of the hole - and stand back.

Timing of ignition was important. Too soon and it 'popped' immediately or too late and the gas around the base of the tin flared up as well. 

Our science master showed us the trick with an empty Golden Syrup tin. Push the lid on tight, make a small hole in the centre of the lid and a small hole near the bottom of the tin. Use the rubber pipe from a bunson burner to fill the tin with gas through the top hole. Make sure the pipe is well away from the tin then light the hole at the top, it would burn with a small flame until it had drawn enough air in the bottom hole to make an explosive mixture, then it would go bang and blow the lid off.

Science was great fun, until Health and Safety ruined it.

[ditchcrawler]

Eye witness report or ear witness report on Facebook

[nbfiresprite]

On 24/04/2018 at 13:12, Naughty Cal said:

Hope all of those involved are ok.

I was surprised to see the picture of the boat as there appears to be very little damage from the outside.

It has to have been a portable gas appliance. A Calor or similar cylinder exploding would have caused far more damage then that. The boat that set on fire at Burton Waters last year had a cylinder fire through the side of the hull 

The main damage looks to be to the canopy, the remains of which can be seen in the water. It was a fairly loud bang which could heard at the station where i was at the time on my way to Cambridge. Never trusted these clamp to seal gas stoves after the cramp failed on a old type Camping gaz stove, 40 years ago in Winter of Dicontent during blackout.

 

 

[Rob@BSSOffice]

The EA were on the ball with this incident and we were notified within 15 minutes of it happening. We have no certainity whatsoever at the moment as to cause.

A 6 or 13 Kg cylinder exploding would have created a very significant force. A camping stove i.e. push to seal 'Gaz' type camping stove exploded on an open deck trailer sailer on the Broads some years ago. The two crew had to be taken to hospital, but the deck was open to the stars and the boat was little damaged.

Although gas has been mentioned as the cause, we are not yet ruling out the handling of petrol or petrol system issues as a possible link until all the facts are known.

Speculation is usually not helpful in 'the specific' understanding of an incident. Of course it does reveal the various risks that boat owners and crew should be aware of and manage to help keep themselves safe. There's plenty of safety tips on the boatsafetyscheme.org/Stay-Safe pages for anyone feeling a need to refresh or learn new stuff.

One thing can be predicted,- the family will surely be devastated and we wish them all the very best for as speedy recovery as possible, although the long term after effects could last for some time.

[Horace42]

On 24/04/2018 at 15:15, artleknock said:

Science was great fun, until Health and Safety ruined it.

It still is fun, if you know what you are doing, but now someone gets sued (usually innocent parties) for accidents you cause to yourself and others by ignorance.

Or stupid schoolboy pranks - like fireworks 'Not be held by Hand' - so it is OK to hold them in the teeth...