The Horror of Methanol Fires | Last Moments

if asked for the worst ways to die burning is probably pretty high on most people's lists even if the incident isn't fatal nobody wants to get burned imagine then an invisible fire you're engulfed in completely transparent Flames because you can't see it you don't know how to escape it and worst of all nobody will know how to help you or even realize you're in need of help attention methanol is a flammable chemical often used as fuel compared to gasoline which has a carbon content of around 87 by weight methanol is only about 38 carbon with much less carbon to burn methanol fires do not emit as much light as gasoline fires methanol burns with a transparent blue light enough to illuminate the dark but it's practically invisible in daylight it also doesn't produce smoke methanol also has a lower rate of combustion than gasoline meaning it burns slower and doesn't get as hot this means a methanol fire is technically easier to contain than a gasoline fire but if you can't see it you can't contain it this is evident in the 1981 Indianapolis 500 Pitfire Rick Mears is pitting on lap 58. while he waits for his crew to service his car a refueling hose starts spraying fuel before it's connected to the car this covers mirrors his crew and the car in methanol which ignites when it comes into contact with the engine they are engulfed in invisible Flames the crew flees they can feel the fire but can't see it Panic ensues Rick Mears jumps out of his car he is on fire and after inhaling and feeling the heat go down his throat realizes he must hold his breath a safety worker tries to remove his helmet but catches a light and runs away he jumps the barrier and runs to someone with a fire extinguisher they try to put mirrors out but Catch Fire themselves they drop the extinguisher and run away leaving mirrors to pick it up and try to extinguish himself mir's fueler having already been sprayed with extinguishers has trouble alerting the crew that he is still on fire he flails around both in reaction to the burning pain and in an attempt to Signal he needs help Rick mir's father rushes to his son with a fire extinguisher and puts him out and the safety team managed to extinguish everything else Rick Mears and four of his mechanics were sent to hospital and mirrors had to have plastic surgery on his face particularly his nose thankfully however no one was seriously injured this is not always the case for accidents involving the combustion of methanol in 2005 at the butler Motor Speedway in Michigan USA 49 year old Rudy Corsini was working as a fuel man during that day's races Corsini was in a field shed constructed of wood transferring methanol from one container to another when suddenly there was a spark suspected to have come from improper wiring at the pumps this spark ignited the methanol and caused an explosion Corsini was engulfed in invisible flame as all around him the fuel shed caught fire igniting gasoline and propane despite this Corsini somehow managed to escape the burning building a race car driver who was also a firefighter came to his Aid wrapping a shirt around his face to extinguish any burning methanol and protect him from inhalation this man pulled Corsini away from the scene and some thousand Spectators were evacuated as fire departments quickly contained the large fire Corsini was flown by helicopter to a Burns unit at a nearby hospital he suffered three degree burns to 90 percent of his body Rudy Corsini died of his injuries the following day methanol fuel is still widely used in racing and one of the reasons is Believe It or Not safety as previously mentioned it burns slower and cooler than gasoline also unlike gasoline it can be put out with plain water you think the fact that it's practically invisible in daylight would make it much more dangerous but actually its visibility is considered to largely be a good thing the lack of flames or smoke means a fire doesn't create a visual obstruction which could be a huge problem on a race track pose using a serious risk to safety workers and other Racers of course the downside to Invisible Flames is detecting them as we've seen with Rick Mears incident the level of confusion and panic it inspires is much harder to quantify than its rate of combustion or temperature methanol fires may be technically safer but they're still terrifying you could be on fire but when you look down you don't even know where to start to put it out and neither will anyone watching you they might set themselves on fire if they come to your Aid without realizing what's happening you might not know which way to turn to get away from the fire or avoid more sources of methanol which is transparent in its liquid form and all the while you're breathing in invisible flames and burning your lungs that is the horror of methanol fires [Music] [Applause] on fire

Channel: Qxir

Views: 3,606,651

Keywords: invisible fire, pit stop, methanol, race, racing, footage, rick mears, flames, 1981 indy 500, scary, accident, irish

Id: lmEsU-QYxNk

Length: 5min 50sec (350 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 17 2023