Today's odd news

[Tom Rankin]

Ex-Forest Ranger starts fire in classroom

From Yahoo!'s "Odd News"

"LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - An elementary school was evacuated Thursday after a retired forest ranger accidentally started a fire while teaching students about 19th-century life.

Gary Hodgson was trying to show fifth-graders how pioneers built fires without matches when some gunpowder ignited, school officials and police said.

The classroom filled with smoke, but no students were seriously injured.

It wasn't exactly clear how the 9:30 a.m. accident happened.

Hodgson was hospitalized in stable condition with burns to his face, hands and chest.

"He is an expert," volunteer firefighter Pat Gallagher said. "If you were going into the woods with somebody, he'd be the guy you'd pick."

 

[Mac]

Odd News

Sometimes being known as an "expert" means you talk a good game but don't really know squat.

 

[forty8]

Wow, talk about your bad days!

 

[SAR-EMT40]

They are saying gunpowder, but if it is truly 19th century then it is black powder with is actually classified as an explosive. If you have ever seen it go up it only takes a spark and poof, it is gone. Very dangerous stuff to have sparks around. I feel bad for the guy. It probably was very embarassing as well as the burn injuries. I am sure it was probably very impressive to the witnesses. Luckily no one else was injured.

Keith

 

[Rick]

Sometimes being known as an "expert" means you talk a good game but don't really know squat.

I've spoken with Gary a few times and met him twice back in the early-mid 1990's and he had always been very knowledgeable and helpful, so I hope the tone of the thread doesn't change to start bashing him - especially without all of the specific details yet.
Just a thought
Cheers
Rick

 

[DougPaul]

They are saying gunpowder, but if it is truly 19th century then it is black powder with is actually classified as an explosive. If you have ever seen it go up it only takes a spark and poof, it is gone. Very dangerous stuff to have sparks around.

Black powder is interesting stuff:
* slow unconfined burn: if you lay a stripe of it on the ground and light one end, it will burn at rates on the order of a foot per second. (Seen in many old movies...)
* fast confined burn: if you pack it in a tube it will burn very fast (thousands of fps, IIRC) (Again, IIRC it is still classed as a deflagration (burn) rather than a detonation (a shock wave).)

So, if one is used to the unconfined burn characteristics and accidentlly get a confined burn, unexpected consequences can follow...

(Had a summer job in an explosives lab way back when and read explosives manuals during lunch...)

Doug

 

[HikerBob]

Reminds me of one particularly memorable chemistry class in high school where the teacher was demonstrating the reaction of postassium with water. Unfortunately he was rather generous with the chunk of potassium and did not remove all of the oxidised crust... Deafening explosion, bright flash, flames and shattering glassware.

Subsequent lessons were attended with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension but were always interesting and somehow we all survived

Bob

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Smokeless powder burns relatively slowly in the open air. Even the fast burning smokeless powders are all listed by the ATF as propellants. Black powder burns very rapidly weather inclosed or in the open and the ATF lists them as an Explosive. Smokeless powder can generate up to and beyond 65000 PSI for chamber pressures. Black powder only generates around 25000 PSI. These are weapon chamber pressures. The way they change the burn rate on black powder is by changing the granuale size. If you look at smokeless powder they do the same thing but they have very stringent controls on the shapes and size. Tubular, flake, spherical and other shapes are used to control the burn rates of smokeless powders.

I spent several years working in a gun store and spend several years studying interior and exterior ballistics.

Keith

 

[woodstrider]

Ranger misfire

Hey- sometimes shit just happens I know it has to me and I'd hate to be raked over the coals for it.

Though to tell the truth I would not teach the little buggers how to make a fire in th efirst place- they get into enough trouble with out the imput of an adult. Let them bring a stove. Ha HA-

 

[mike46r]

I have run into Gary Hodgson many times over many years. He has been on many rescues in the High Peaks during his career.