I’m sure the majority of staff are aware of the potential dangers of methalated spirit stoves but here is a recent report on a pretty nasty accident
Newham Council in court over teenager’s fireball horror
Serious failings in controlling the fuel by the leaders!
refilling a stove with a 5 litre can of meth??
sounds like a build up of small errors which resulted in this result.
In this case, they’re quite right. That’s basic, common sense stuff…
should have been easily picked up in a RA
flammable fuel - storage method
use of camping stove - trained operators
both of these it would seem have been missed!
I’m pretty sure that several years ago a set of RAs and guidance were issued in the ACO for the use of camping stoves, including advice for Trangias that a sprung valved fuel bottle should be used. These being of the type sold by Trangia and one or two others, the RAs coming out following one or two incidents.
That’s correct.
Even without the fancy bottle, the basic error there was refuelling the stove while it was still alight.
One of the dangers of alcohol stoves of course is that the flame is difficult to see…but in this case the girl had clearly not been properly trained to know that the stove must be extinguished and cool before refuelling. She was trying to refuel it BEFORE it went out!?
But sometimes with meths you can’t tell whether the thing is still lit or not.
I never understood trangias, bulky, heavy, full of unnecessary stuff. What’s wrong with gas?
Meths has a very low flash point and thus ignites very easily as a vapour.
Although the wording in the article suggests that she knew it was still alight and that she was trying to fuel it to stop it going out…
That’s especially worrying because it shows a total lack of understanding of the dangers associated with alcohol stoves, and their proper use.
That can only mean she wasn’t trained and/or supervised properly.
[quote=“Baldrick” post=3748]But sometimes with meths you can’t tell whether the thing is still lit or not.
[/quote]
visually i agree, but holding a hand above the stove can confirm either way within the blink of an eye
edit: the same is true for electric hobs which really annoys me given the ease in any potential mix up. when heating they glow red but otherwise look as cold and black as when there are switched off…
That is correct. Very thorough RAs and training guidance were issued. I only posted the link as interest into what can happen if you’re not following the correct practice
As an aside the DofE released these Stove Safety Instructions late last year!