A Gasser of a Story 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
Van Nuys Calif, exact date, I don't remember, but it was a Saturday in early April.
Every once in a while one has the priveledge of witnessing a potential Darwinian Event. One such opportunity happened to my wife and I many years ago. Our hero (also our apartment manager) was having car problems. It seems that the vehicle was suffering from fuel starvation under high loads (like hill climbing). He replaced the Carb, fuel pump, fuel filter, and had a tune-up to no avail. Knowing that I was reasonably mechanicaly inclined he asked what I thought the problem might be. I suggested that it was probably the filter screen located in the fuel tank. Understanding that the removal of the filter meant that he would need to drain the tank, our Hero drove his vehicle until little fuel was left - perhaps a gallon or less. Unknown to him, the night before the attempt to clean the filter was to take place, our Hero's dear and thoughtful wife needed to go to the store. Noticing that the fuel gauge was reading below the 'E', she thought she was doing her husband a favor, and filled the car with fuel - some 20+ gallons worth. At six am Saturday, I awoke to go to the bathroom and noticed a very stong stench of gasoline fumes wafting in through our open windows. Our townhouse apartments (six units) were perched over the open carports. Knowing that our Hero was planning to look into the afore mentioned fuel filter problem, I dressed and went downstairs to see what was going on. Upon seeing what was happening, the very next action I took was to run back upstairs, quickly roust my wife and 18mo old daughter out of bed, insisting that we needed to vacate the building NOW! After seeing to the safety of my family, I went back to offer some advice to our Hero. The situation that caused such alarm on my part was this: Our hero was working under his vehicle on the concrete of the carport. Not knowing that his wife (who was observing the repair) had filled the tank, he had proceeded to remove the drain plug from the fuel tank. Having run out of old milk jugs with which to catch the fuel, he was just letting it run out of the tank, onto the ground and onto himself, as he was still under the car waiting for the tank to drain. There was a breeze blowing towards the port opening, effectively trapping and concentrating the rapidly increasing fumes in the carport area. In one corner of the carport stood the electronically ignited water heater. Observing this, (and having a vision of the buildings disappearing in a great fireball)I suggested that he may wish to shut off the power to the hot water heater. His initial response was 'why?'. I explained that there was a great probability that as soon as the water heater fired for the first time, it would probably ignite more than the natural gas. A great many emotions crossed what little of his face that I could see under the car, the final one being one of great panic. He yelled to his wife to go get the keys for the circuit box as he scrambled from under the car. She asked 'Why?', even though she had been part of the conversation. Finally the light dawned, ans she hurried to get the keys. Our hero shut off the water heater circuits, and amazingly climbed back under the car continue to wait for the tank to drain. I was stunned as he, seemingly without a care in the world, proceeded to lie in the still expanding pool of fuel, under the open drain plug!. Not able to stand it anymore, I pushed my car out of the carport, (he actually asked why I did not start the car!) and whisked my wife and daughter to a nearby park to wait things out. About three hours later we returned to find that our Hero was finishing his repairs. I suggested to him that he may wish to go take a shower to wash off the gasoline that he had been soaked with, and we departed for a while longer. We did not see him for the rest of the day. The next morning as we were leaving for Church, he was out and about his business, but I noticed that he was moving very slowly, as if in great pain. I also noticed that the exposed portions of his arms and legs were quite red. I asked how he was doing. His answer astounded me. Since he had already 'soiled' a set of work clothes, he saw no sense in either showering or changing his clothes for the rest of the day. He finally decided to take a shower Saturday afternoon when he noticed his skin was beginning to itch and tingle. By Sunday morning he was in great pain, and was only able to wear any clothing with great difficulty. They had gone to the emergency room very early in the morning, and had been told by the Dr. that he was fortunate to only be suffering the equivalent of 1st degree burns over most of his body. Had he waited much longer to change his clothes and shower the day before, he most likely would have been hospitalized from the long contact with the gasoline. I thought that this might be worthy of an honorable mention, since no fatalities took place. At the very least it was a Darwinian Effort. The problem with his car was solved also. Submitted on 03/18/2003
Submitted by:
Stephen Burton
Reference:
Personal Account - April 1983
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