Fueling explosion and death on Pine Island

[Capitaine R]

https://www.nbc-2.com/story/41255732/boat-explosion-st-james-city-death-investigation-lee-county

 

[jimdavi]

Very sad. Have to be so careful with gasoline. They said he was fueling with the engine running.

 

[Comodave]

Very sad. Have to be so careful with gasoline. They said he was fueling with the engine running.

Not a good idea. Too bad it happened.

 

[Group9]

Very sad. You can't ever lose your respect for explosives when handling them. A tragic reminder.

 

[Baker]

I have seen this happen 3 different times. 1 incident had a fatality. One very serious injuries. And one just pure dumb luck no one got hurt. Be careful out there folks.

 

[ben2go]

I've seen this once where the boat burned and owner died. It was due to poor maintenance and the owner being to impatient to run the bilge blowers. Another time I saw fumes flash off but no resultant fire and no injuries. The ignition source was never found. The boat and electrical was shut down for fueling.

 

[rslifkin]

Stories like this always remind me that I'm not crazy for my insistence on never shutting the fume detector off unless we're tied down in a slip (so it's always on during fueling). And I always insist on an in-person bilge check after fueling before even turning on the blowers (and then a few minutes with the blowers on before startup).

 

[JLD]

While I would certainly agree its not a good idea to refuel a boat with the engine(s) running, I'm not sure that's the cause of the explosion in this case.

The boat looks like a skiff, with a 150 hp Yamaha on a bracket. The gentleman was apparently refueling using the portable gas cans shown on the deck.

I wonder if maybe the gentleman spill the fuel from the portable cans and what the ignition source was?

Jim

 

[Group9]

While I would certainly agree its not a good idea to refuel a boat with the engine(s) running, I'm not sure that's the cause of the explosion in this case.

The boat looks like a skiff, with a 150 hp Yamaha on a bracket. The gentleman was apparently refueling using the portable gas cans shown on the deck.

I wonder if maybe the gentleman spill the fuel from the portable cans and what the ignition source was?

Jim

It could have been a static charge triggered explosion. This time of year, that's a real possibility.

A demolition guy I knew, had a trick he would show us where he would wire a blasting cap to a lead, then slide across the vinyl seat of his truck, touch his fingers to the leads, and set the blasting cap off. He said those were the days you didn't want to be setting charges.

 

[localboy]

Same reason that if you re-enter your car while the gas pump is filling, you should ground yourself to eliminate any static charge you pick up from rubbing across the upholstery prior to pulling out the gas filler.


In B.C. this past summer, we were told no one can remain on the boat while filling at any fuel dock anymore. They changed the law after a tragic loss of life. May even be all of Canada.

 

[firehoser75]

Refueling (especially with gasoline) is always a potentially dangerous time!
However, flammable storage can be an issue as well.
True story. On a boat I inspected while boat shopping, I discovered stored in the cockpit lazarette (a relatively sealed below deck compartment) the following: a partially full gas can and a 10 lb propane bottle.
Mounted in the same laz were the electrical motor for the stern thruster, 2 - 12 volt lead acid stern thruster batteries, and the dedicated battery charger, and a bilge pump!
Can anyone say BOOM! Fuels like gas and propane need to be properly respected, and stored and used safely.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Condolences to the family. I think incidents like this are a reminder to always remain diligent and aware of potential dangers. Complacency while performing tasks that one has done, perhaps hundreds of times without issue, can readily take over from being careful. Add to that, "temporary repairs" that become permanent repairs due to forgetfulness or a "it's good enough" attitude.

 

[soin2la]

In B.C. this past summer, we were told no one can remain on the boat while filling at any fuel dock anymore. They changed the law after a tragic loss of life. May even be all of Canada.

Really?
I have never encountered a fuel dock in BC that would fuel up with people onboard. Or maybe it’s just because I was always preemptive, by telling everyone they would need to leave the boat during refueling???

 

[rslifkin]

Requiring people off the boat while fueling is unusual on the east coast. I don't think I've ever seen it. A lot of fuel docks do require all hatches and doors closed during fueling on gasoline boats, however. And I personally make sure everyone is on deck during fueling when everything is closed up.

 

[Shrew]

The incident appears to have occurred in a backyard dock on a private canal, not a fuel dock. It looks like he was filling the tank with jerry cans.

 

[localboy]

Really?
I have never encountered a fuel dock in BC that would fuel up with people onboard. Or maybe it’s just because I was always preemptive, by telling everyone they would need to leave the boat during refueling???

What we were told at Ganges in August, when we fueled. The Admiral was in the cockpit, grabbing something, and the dock hand had a coronary. She stepped off and the dock hand gave me the hose. She gets off all the time anyway, but this time she had to grab her wallet, so she could uhm, pay. Dock hand said something about people trapped inside a boat that caught fire and they were killed and now it’s the law. He provided no details and I didn’t ask.

Same guy that would not give us water on the dock despite us filling our fuel tank.

 

[healhustler]

Always worried about this when we had a gasser. I was in the habit of opening the hinged cockpit engine hatch before starting the engine, even when the blowers were running.