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Painful Lessons in Fire Safety and Proper Attire
People who study airplane crashes talk a lot about the failure chain. It’s never one thing that causes an accident but a sequence of small missteps, or a failure chain, that eventually combines to produce a really bad outcome. Such was the case when I drained the fuel tank of the 1933 Wolseley Hornet Special that I recently bought with my friend Rick Shaw. The Hornet is a prewar British roadster in the mold of an MG TC but with a much more interesting 1.3-liter overhead-cam six, then the smallest six-cylinder yet produced. Our Wolseley had been sitting for more than three decades, and it needed, as the Brits would say, a “light recommissioning,” including a thorough cleaning of its fuel tank.
Mistake One was to assume that letting the drained tank sit for two weeks with the flip cap open would be enough to evaporate any residual fumes. Mistake Two was to assume that blowing compressed air through it for 10 minutes would be enough to qualify as safety overkill. Mistake Three was to not bother to read anything about the proper way to ensure a fuel tank is safely purged. I mean, what can you learn from the internet, anyway? Mistake Four—and this was a biggie—was wearing an old pair of nylon athletic pants because they were ratty and I didn’t care if they got dirty. Mistake Five was a snap decision to hit the small but stubborn screw holding the tank’s chrome filler cap on with some heat. I figured the tank would be easier to work and this lovely cap would be better protected if I separated it from the tank.
Kneeling down in front of the filler neck, I triggered the torch and instantly there was a loud FOOOOSH! The filler neck became a decent replica of a German V-2 rocket engine. There was only enough vapor to burn for half a second, but it lit the nylon on fire. I jumped back as the heat began to sear my right leg. When I looked down, it was already over; the pants were in ashen tatters, as was my leg from the mid-thigh to the ankle.
Urgent Care declared it over their heads and sent us to the emergency room at Torrance Memorial, where technician Hayato Lorrin and his colleagues spent five hours slowly and carefully debriding the wound, or removing the dead tissue to reduce the chance of infection. We had a lot of time to talk as I wallowed on morphine. Lorrin has worked in the medical teams at the F1 races in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas, he spent a season on Mount Everest as a base-camp medic, and he and his dad, a Hagerty member, are restoring a ’66 Mustang.
Torrance sent me out wobbly but well bandaged. Next, I went to the Grossman Burn Center in the LA suburb of West Hills, the same place that patched up our man Jay Leno after his fiery encounter with his White steam car. There, they applied a state-of-the-art foam dressing that encases a burn and acts as artificial scab and antimicrobial shield. Even the burn techs call it miracle stuff. I told them they should call their clinic the Dummy Ward, since, unlike the poor souls in the oncology and pediatric departments, most of us burn patients are there because we did something stupid.
Leno kindly checked in a few times and we compared notes on burn healing and TV shows to watch. He told me that he plowed through a good chunk of the 10 seasons of Columbo while his face healed. I said I had been binging The Rockford Files while my leg was up on pillows to reduce the swelling. Blinding pain eventually gave way to relentless itching, which in many ways is worse since you can’t really take meds for that. I figured it would be a month of agony, but 10 days later, the foam came off and the doctor pronounced himself satisfied and that I could treat myself from here on out with moisturizer and Band-Aids.
If I had to write an accident report, I would offer the following tips: If you think a fuel tank is purged, it isn’t. Flush it with water several times and then use some remote triggering device to test it. When he was restoring Pebble Beach contenders, my Hagerty colleague Logan Calkins kept a supply of Roman candles to shoot at freshly flushed tanks. Also, don’t wear nylon anywhere near the shop or around anything flammable. Had I been wearing jeans, I would have felt some warmth on my leg and then gotten on with the, ahem, light decommissioning.
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This story first appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.
You might want to consider wearing leather shoes/boots while working on a vehicle. Synthetic footwear will melt just like the author’s pants, leather won’t. Learned this lesson crewing helicopters in Vietnam, we wore leather boots with our Nomex uniforms, not the usual “jungle boots” that had nylon components. Just a thought.
In my mechanicking days, I discovered the hard way that the uniform service at one of the shops I worked at provided plastic uniforms unless you explicitly requested natural fibers. Not quite the extreme of hard way you experienced, but I was surprised to find my clothes pock marked with melted holes after a weld repair. I opted for the natural fibers, and this was some time ago, but it never hurts to double check the tags
I discovered the same thing when I was still wrenching. Nylon uniforms do not mix well with welding. In my case, the back of my shirt caught on fire as I was welding on a pro street frame. It wasn’t the welding itself that caused it but a weld behind me that I had just finished. Rewarded me with a visit to ER and second degree burns. Never again.
Wowsers. That leg is a mental picture I won’t soon forget, Aaron – hope the healing speeds up and the itching subsides. Oh, and that Wolseley looks terrific!
And be careful with metal jewelry (watches, rings etc) around battery terminals. I have the burn scar on my left wrist where my batch band very briefly completed a grond path between the + battery terminal and the battery hold down bolt. The latter is now insulated with a piece of vacuum hose.
Back in my poor college days, I had a VW beetle that needed a braze repair on the fuel tank. Removed the empty tank, rinsed with water several times, and decided to cautiously check for residual gasoline fumes by passing the lit torch over the filler neck. With a large “wump” the 10 gallon tank became an 11 gallon tank! Haven’t done that again!
But look on the bright side: you extended the range by 10%, right?
Turned it up to 11 did you, Spinal Tap would approve.
I’m old enough to get that! LOL
It’s difficult to organize flame proof clothing with shop work. But it can be much easier to use more care with flammables.
I’m glad it was no worse for you or even the possible loss of the shop cars and tools.
Just use care with fuel as so many people forget it is the unseen fumes that get you not the liquid.
We all too often smell the fumes but forget this is what will bite you. Have plans for good ventilation and ignition elements.
My first real job was working at a service station. One of the other attendants kept a container of gasoline that he used to put out his cigarettes. The butt was never hot enough to light off the layer of fumes, and the gas put it out. I never had the nerve to try that myself.
I don’t think nerve was what you were lacking. Stupidity, maybe, but not nerve…
The laziest way I’ve seen tank purging done, via The Skid Factory in the land Down Under, was to hook the tank up to the exhaust of an idling modern vehicle (read: has catalytic converters), and let it soak in those exhaust fumes for an hour or two. This was after washing it out, of course.
Interesting!
Sorry that happened. Hope you make a speedy recovery.
These days I’m generally avoiding synthetic materials in my clothing. More for comfort than fire safety, but still. The fire safety aspect is why I looked at those inexpensive nylon M1 flight jackets and said “no, thanks.” They look cool, but I don’t want one melted to me.
This is why drivers used to wear silk scarves and underwear. Not just a fashion statement. At that time the best fire retardant ( slow burning ) material available. Silk does burn but at a slower rate and is easier to extinguish. Still sometimes used to treat burns as a dressing after the fact. Nylon and other synthetics not only burn easier but can melt to the skin under the right circumstances. Especially gruesome. I assume you won’t make the mistake again. Maybe go buy a pair of silk panties (allegedly for the wife) at Victoria’s Secret , you sexy thing.
(ps) gas fumes are much more dangerous than a full container of high test. Gasoline needs air to combust . A 13 -14 parts air to fuel ratio for a combustion engine to run properly at full song.Nitro on the other hand only needs about 5-1 . You can stuff more in and still make go boom. Yes you can quickly flick a cigarette into an open container of gas and have it go out. Seen it done, wouldn’t suggest trying it.
SOAPY water. Even if you don’t get all of the gasoline out, it will mix with the soap which will knock the VOCs down. I have never had any issue doing hot work after a purge with soapy water.
In the early 80s, I took an introductory course in welding at Fullerton junior college. We were told to wear 100% cotton pants, long sleeve shirts, and gloves, like professional welders do, as the splatter from stick welding would mostly bounce off and not burn the fabric – protecting your skin. Well, I’m working away at my station with a Lincoln welder when I notice some brightness to my left. I also noticed the guy working next to me looking in my direction. My shirt sleeve was on fire! Turns out my long sleeve shirt was made of polyester, not cotton. Like your nylon, the polyester melted onto my arm (I think I should get credit for starting the break dance craze). Oh yeah – I thanked the guy next to me for, ahem, not saying anything.
Almost 20 years ago, I spent 3 days total in an ICU burn unit. The specialist said I had “2nd+ degree burns on the left side of my body (yard waste burn gone bad). Sure, I was wearing 100% cotton…shorts and a tank top. The technology and procedures at the time were nowhere near what you were ministered today…and I will NOT be giving the details. I do agree with the thinking of your re-name – The Dummy Ward. But I don’t think soft language should be used, as George Carlin constantly recited. No, it should be called what it is – The Idiot Burn Box. It’s certainly NOT the place you want your picture on the board, let alone on the Top 10 Flame-On Idiot’s chart. Live and learn…but not THIS way!
I do not care how hot it is or what uncomfortable position I’m going to be in, by leather welding apron (covers neck to knees) and long (almost to elbow) leather gloves will be on me when I fire up any of my torches or welding gear. I did make the mistake of wearing synthetic material tenny-runners once – will never do that again – it’s leather boots now or I don’t weld.
I’ve had hot slag drop into a leather boot you learn to just grin and bear it until it cools
Then just bandage it at night
I’m retired now and weld as a hobby most of the time in sandals I get asked about it and show the scars on my ankles from the ones that got in my boot it’s much easier to shake it off in sandals
My father taught me to fill a tank with CO from the exhaust of any other car you had handy by putting a hose from the tail pipe to the tank inlet. CO and CO2 are both heavier than air, so will fill the tank and flush out any fuel vapors. They also flush out the oxygen the fuel vapor needs to burn.
Just in case you are interested, cut a small swatch of Tyvek (as used in “mechanic’s suits”) and set a match to it. Burns fast, hot, spreads flaming goo everywhere, hard to put out. These things ought to be illegal.
Isn’t Tyvek the “house wrap” stuff? So if your wooden siding catches fire and you have your house wrapped with Tyvek, U R screwed.