Back on March 4, 2016 a contractor/truck driver was transferring “diesel fuel” of some type from a storage tank to his truck when there was a flash fire. He received 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 50% of his body and has since passed away from his injuries. When I saw this incident in my Incident Alerts I was very curious as to how diesel fuel could be involved in a flash fire due to its HIGH flash point (~140F depending on grade of fuel). But as stated by the Asst. Chief of the responding FD, the material he was transferring was not all diesel and the solution had some flammable liquid mixed in…
“He was actually loading diesel fuel at the time but investigators determined that there was some kind of flammable liquid in there that was probably much closer to gasoline and much more flammable,” Quincy Fire Department Assistant Chief James Pioch said.
Source: http://khqa.com/news/local/adm-burn-victim-remains-in-critical-condition-victims-wife-gives-update
Knowing what we are transferring and its properties (FP, BP, and Conductivity) means everything to safety! I have no idea of the contributing factors behind this incident, but I do know a man lost his life from horrible burns – thinking he was transferring a type of diesel fuel when it was something more.