Posted on 08/20/2012 5:05:06 PM PDT by cripplecreek
Michigan siblings killed in gasoline-soaked bonfire explosion at high school graduation party
A celebration ended in sadness Saturday night in St. Clair Township, when recent high school graduate Savannah Blewett and her older brother died in a large bonfire explosion.
St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon said in a release that 27-year-old Christopher Blewett poured a large amount of gasoline on a two-story pile of wood in his backyard and, according to witnesses, invited his sister to light it on fire.
When she did, the gasoline exploded, scattering wood up to 100 yards and blowing out windows in the back of the house, located on the 6500 block of Gratiot Road.
The siblings were killed in the explosion, and three others were treated for undisclosed injuries at local hospitals.
A neighbor called authorities shortly after 9:30 p.m., prompting responses from sheriff's deputies, local police officers and at least three local fire departments.
Donnellon said alcohol was served at the party, but there was no indication that minors were drinking.
A man staying in a campground nearby told television station WXYZ that the explosion shook his RV and described the sound as a "sonic boom."
The Blewett family chose not to speak about their loss on camera, but well-wishers have been offering condolences on a Facebook page set up to remember Savannah and Christopher.
"You lost your lives in an accident that should never have happened," reads a message on the page. "We will all love and miss you dearly."
The weekend bonfire explosion occurred just weeks after a similar incident in West Michigan, where seven teenagers were injured after dousing a large brush pile with gasoline and setting it on fire.
ping
I think the problem here is that it was two stories high, I’m guessing that’s what, 25-30 feet?. They created one huge cavity that just kept who knows how many cubic feet of vapor trapped inside. We built bonfires with soaked wood too, but all we got were some big wooshes. Not once did our bonfire ever blow up and scatter over 100 square yards. That’s a helluva big boom.
Try magnesium and wax. Now that’s fun. Just don’t say you heard it from me.
Agreed. The problem with gasoline is that it burns out before the wood catches. Kerosene or parrafin is better because it burns long enough to dry out the fuel.
The firestarter sticks they sell at Wal-Mart and Canadian tire are wax & sawdust. If the wood is really damp, magnesium flakes do the trick.
Build a man a fire and he’s warm for the night. Set a man on fire and he’s warm for the rest of his life.
poor kids...I hope it was instantaneous & without suffering.
Prayers for the family.
What a terrible shock - many sad days ahead
File this one under "invitations that are best declined."
Indian make small fire, little wood, sit close, talk low and listen; white man build big fire, much wood, stand far way, scream like wildcat in heat to be heard.
Noted.
Yeah, I’ve seen videos of people burning air cooled VW engine crankcases - they’re made of magnesium. Creates quite a flash when they burn.
A unfortunate reminder to fathers to educate the kids.
Yes, by using much smaller amounts of gasoline to burn the trash, I learned the power of gasoline prior to moving up to the bonfires.
A cup of gasoline, mostly evaporated in a 55 gal drum will launch a burning paper grocery sack full of household trash like a cannon. In doing so, it will scatter the flaming debris over a large portion of the yard.
Don't ask me why I know this. But my Dad could explain why I never did it again...
My nephew is going to graduate from high school in the spring as a likely valedictorian and is already in a UofM beginning pre med starter course but he shows a frightening lack of practical knowledge. He’s never been fishing, spent the day in the woods alone, been in a schoolyard fight, fired a gun. I don’t even know if he can ride a bicycle.
Locally there is an argument over what to do with an old 5 story hotel in town. The leading liberal idea is to put thousands of tons of dirt in it and do vertical gardening in it with water from tilapia ponds on the roof. They can’t grasp the fact that the building was built for human occupancy and putting thousands of tons of dirt and water in it would be disastrous.
A lot of people in the near future are going to die for unworkable utopian ideals.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”
- Robert Heinlein
>>God rest their souls. Having survived more stupid stunts than I can count I will not judge them.<<
Exactly. Thank you!
Sad and dumb. RIP.
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