Oh yes, once again from The Daily Mail
At least 100 burned alive after discarded cigarette butt sparks massive fire in Kenyan shantytown
Residents of the slum tried to scoop up the fuel from the burst pipe and sewer, but were set on fire when the petrol ignited after someone threw a cigarette butt.
I am not making light of the tragedy here, it is a terrible thing.
But this is just stupid, the Hollywood myth that you can explode petrol with a cigarette has been debunked so many times, you’d think this reporter would be embarrassed to repeat it.
Can You Ignite Gasoline With A Cigarette?
I’m not suggesting there’s any sort of agenda here, other than lazy, ill informed journalism, that would be crazy wouldn’t it?
Addendum:
It seems The Guardian don’t read their own back issues either.
The fire began without warning when a man tossed away a cigarette butt.
and yet the first ‘hit’ on the above Google search is
Lazy journalism indeed. I'd like to know whether the assertion that 'someone threw a cigarette butt' is based on eye-witness accounts, particularly since the New York Times takes a different view altogether:
ReplyDelete'But then the wind shifted, witnesses said on Monday, and embers from the garbage fires that routinely burn by the river wafted toward the area where the fuel was gushing out.'
Meanwhile, there's an interesting angle from a cynical commentor in the Mail:
'Wonder who wants the land shanty town is on.'
The BBC mention it as well
ReplyDeleteReports suggest the blast may have been sparked by a cigarette butt being thrown into an open sewer that was filling with fuel.
I wonder if the reports come from Dreadful Arnott
I'm pretty sure the NYT is on the right track, if the leaking petrol reached an open fire, then yes it would explode
Of course, the Mail has form on this:
ReplyDelete'A single cigarette tossed from an open car window may have started the inferno that shut the M1, causing travel mayhem and costing the economy millions.'
Daily Mail, 19th April 2011
'Six teenagers, including three from London, have been charged with causing a fire that closed the M1 in both directions.
The six suspects are among a total of 10 teenagers charged with a spate of arson attacks across Barnet, north London, Scotland Yard said.'
Press Association, 13th September 2011