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Okay .. I am no expert on the inner workings of mattresses, (I'm an 'expert' of the outsides though) but .. three or four questions arise here:
(1 Are mattress springs 'really' that strong?
(2 Buses are diesel .. right? Does diesel 'explode' or 'flash ignite' in the same way that gasoline does?
(3 Have they already tested and verified that this idea of a 'spring loaded' bomb might actually work?
(4 Is it now time to ban all mattresses everywhere!?
Quote:
UPDATE: A bus and six cars were torched in the blaze.
The New York Daily News reported:
A twin-size mattress that ended up under an MTA bus is being blamed for sparking a bizarre Thursday night Brooklyn blaze that left the bus and six parked cars torched.
The S53 bus from Staten Island ran over the mattress just after 11 p.m. and dragged it across the Verrazano Bridge, a police source said.
Metal springs in the mattress apparently punctured the bus’ gas tank, setting the coach ablaze moments after the driver pulled over in Bay Ridge and evacuated passengers.
Witnesses said gas from the bus spilled into the gutter on Dahlgren Place near 92nd St., triggering a fiery stream underneath a half-dozen cars that rapidly went up in flames.
Diesel fuel does not ignite like gasoline does. It must be compressed for detonation. You can sit there forever waiving a match over it and nothing will happen. On gasoline, the vapors are highly flammable. You stand back ten feet and just toss a lit match anywhere near where gas has been spilled or poured...POOOOF! Some buses are gas but not as many. A mattress spring is pretty strong. Haven't you seen the commercial with the man and woman adult couple jumping on it at the same time before. They're heat treated and tempered as well. I'm not sure of the Rockwell C offhand. It's durable though.
Diesel fuel does not ignite like gasoline does. It must be compressed for detonation. You can sit there forever waiving a match over it and nothing will happen. On gasoline, the vapors are highly flammable. You stand back ten feet and just toss a lit match anywhere near where gas has been spilled or poured...POOOOF! Some buses are gas but not as many. A mattress spring is pretty strong. Haven't you seen the commercial with the man and woman adult couple jumping on it at the same time before. They're heat treated and tempered as well. I'm not sure of the Rockwell C offhand. It's durable though.
I thought that the mattress commercial that you are talking about was for Tempurpedic which has no springs?
I knew the answer to the diesel question.
It was just my 'smart-alicky' way of saying .. s u r e .. I'm really gonna believe this story!
I 'didn't' know that there are still gas powered buses .. especially in paranoid, politically correct, glo-bull warming fanatical New York!
I thought that the mattress commercial that you are talking about was for Tempurpedic which has no springs?
I knew the answer to the diesel question.
It was just my 'smart-alicky' way of saying .. s u r e .. I'm really gonna believe this story!
I 'didn't' know that there are still gas powered buses .. especially in paranoid, politically correct, glo-bull warming fanatical New York!
I've seen four kids jump on a mattress before and not break it. Mind you, it was a newer one and not half shot already. I could see a spring trearing through the tank. Just glancing/skidding hard over a rock can rupture a tank.
You can sit there forever waiving a match over it and nothing will happen.
It's just harder to get going. If you have a giant wick(aka mattress) it will easily burn and then it just feeds on itself. I believe once you have enough heat the diesel itself will burn similar to gasoline because all that heat is producing a lot of vapor.
I saw a funny pic of a car that ran over an old box spring somebody abondoned on a highway or it fell out of a truck( probably). The cars axle became entangled with the box springs wires but it was the punctured fuel tank that eventually stopped her. All she noticed was a shimmy. What a mess. Snopes . com running over a mattress.
Sometimes, when a vehicle drags a combustible item, the friction generates enough heat to set it on fire, which in turn ignites grease and oil on the underside of the vehicle. Once that fire starts, everything else burns too without prompt action, including the fuel tank.
I've seen cars set on fire by a dragging tumble weed, so a mattress isn't a great surprise.
While it is difficult to ignite a pool of #2 oil it is not at all difficult to ignite a cloth rag wetted with oil. Once the oil is burning hot enough to create vapors a spreading puddle will spread fire. Entirely believable incident.
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