Gasoline Container Fire in
Louisiana
On
April 29, 2001 Steve and Jane Thibeaux made a trip to a local gas station
in order to fill three portable gasoline containers for use at home.
Mr. Thibeaux was filling the first container, a five gallon metal gas
can, when a fire spontaneously ignited.
The
five-gallon metal gas can was located on the door step of his van. His
wife, Jane Thibeaux, was in the driver's seat of the van only a few
feet away. When the fire erupted from the top of the portable gas container,
Mr. Thibeaux feared for both his personal safety and the personal safety
of his wife. He grabbed the gas can and attempted to carry it away from
the van and the area of the gasoline pumps. As he did so, the fire continued
to burn, and burning gasoline spilled onto Mr. Thibeaux igniting his
clothing. Mr. Thibeaux eventually was overcome by the flames and fell
down by the side of his van amid the burning gasoline. He suffered severe
burns on various parts of his body.
Seeing
her husband on fire, Jane Thibeaux, exited the van and frantically searched
for aid or assistance. She started yelling for help and looked through
the window of the store but saw no one behind the counter. Seeing no
fire extinguisher inside or on the side of the store near the gasoline
pumps, she ran to assist her husband.
Another customer, Blake Derise, saw Steve Thibeaux predicament and ran
to assist him. Despite a threat to his personal safety and despite having
no fire extinguisher or other mechanical means available to extinguish
the fire, Blake Derise ran to the front of Mr. Thibeaux's van and helped
him out of the flames. Mr. Derise then rolled Mr. Thibeaux on the concrete
and used his hands and other parts of his body to help extinguish the
Mr. Thibeaux.
Mr. Blake Derise's wife, Tanya Derise, ran inside the store searching
for a fire extinguisher. Seeing no fire extinguisher near the door where
she entered, she looked around for a store employee. No employees were
in the store at that time, so Ms. Derise ran behind the counter but
still found no fire extinguisher. Finally, she looked across the store
and saw an extinguisher near the opposite door. She ran across the store,
retrieved the extinguisher, and then ran back through the store and
went to the area near the gasoline pumps where the fire continued to
burn. Ms. Derise gave the fire extinguisher to her husband, Blake Derise,
Mr. Derise used the fire extinguisher to extinguish the remaining fire
burning on the can and the pump handle.
Steve Thibeaux was then driven by his wife to a nearby hospital and
treated for severe burn injuries. As a result of his injuries, Mr. Thibeaux
was hospitalized at Baton Rouge General Hospital Burn Unit for approximately
three-and-a-half weeks.
The gasoline ignited due to static electricity caused by the flow of
the gasoline. A spark gap was created between the pump nozzle and the
metal body of the gasoline can.
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