Car Catches Fire After Butane Cigarette Lighter Explodes

**TXCharlie** · 08-19-07, 01:59 AM

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/13919139/detail.html

POSTED: 4:40 pm CDT August 17, 2007
UPDATED: 6:12 pm CDT August 17, 2007

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Extremely hot weather may have been a factor in the explosion of a pocket cigarette lighter that destroyed a car.

The man who survived the explosion and fire, Shane Reas, said he never thought such a thing could happen.

Reas was on his way home on Tuesday afternoon when he pulled into the parking lot of The T offices on Lancaster with his car on fire.

Reas said his lighter had been sitting in his car all day, and it it exploded in his hand when he picked it up.

Reas said he threw the lighter to the floor and the carpet caught fire. He then stopped and put the fire out, or so he had thought.

"About 10 seconds later, when I'm driving down Lancaster, the whole dash went up and everything started melting. I pulled in here to the parking lot, threw it in park, took the keys out and ran. Everbody was scattered, they didn't know if it was going to explode," said Reas.

Reas' car was a total loss, but luckily he was not injured in the fire.

"Our units responded to the scene, found the inside of this Jeep well involved and it took them a couple of minutes, and we estimate 50 gallons of water, to actually bring the fire under control," said Lt. Kent Worley of the Fort Worth Fire Department. "Once the inside of a car gets going, it's very intense."

Worley said people often do not think of lighters as the pressurized container of flammable stuff that they are and that they can pose a great risk in direct sunlight or in a hot car.

"It's plastic -- very light aluminum at the top and very easy for this to malfunction, as apparently it did in this case," said Worley.

Reas said he has learned his lesson the hard way.

"You keep one in your car, but you never really think to put it in the glove box or put it in your pocket. It just sits in the direct sun and heats up to the point where it can combust," said Reas.

Worley recommends smokers keep their lighters out of direct sunlight or in their pocket.

**Terminator** · 08-19-07, 02:21 AM

Ehhh, the car sucked anyway, so it was probably for the best.

**ManImBored** · 08-19-07, 02:26 AM

Bet that's the last time he tries to smoke in his car.

**TXCharlie** · 08-19-07, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by Terminator

Ehhh, the car sucked anyway, so it was probably for the best.

Oh, you're right - a Jeep. So he picks his cars as well as his lighters

**Tuff** · 08-19-07, 10:37 AM

I wonder how the insurance company is going to look at that????

**countybear** · 08-19-07, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Tuff

I wonder how the insurance company is going to look at that????

It won't, unless he has comprehensive coverage.

**kjlaw** · 08-19-07, 01:58 PM

The same thing happened to my wife a few years ago. Luckly I only had to replace the floor mat.

**Ducky** · 08-19-07, 02:21 PM

Mr Ducky learned a similar lesson the other day, he was leaning in to light his cig and managed to lose the front little bit of his hair to an unexpected 8 inch flame from the el cheapo lighter.