acetylene cylinder exposed to heavy fire

As some of you may know I am a fire investigator in my life away from cubs - the other day while working a scene I snapped this photo of an M size acetylene cylinder that was exposed to heavy fire in a detached shop. This obviously exploded and I found it 120' from the area of origin. It is constructed of 3/16" steel - just thought it was interesting as many of us have welding / cutting outfits in our shops.

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What was the cause of the fire?

What was the cause of the fire?

Improper use of an electrical space heater (sorry but I have to be careful about going into detail)

There was a fire at a plant gas plant in St. Louis a few years ago, they filled all types of gas bottles there. some of the acetylene bottles were found a few blocks away.

Wow!

that looks like a BLEVE !It would have been Cool to see it fly through the air. Just kidding I am also in the fire fighting business and have seen afew cylinders BLEVE it wasn't a pleasant feeling but it was funny later.

There was a fire at a plant gas plant in St. Louis a few years ago, they filled all types of gas bottles there. some of the acetylene bottles were found a few blocks away.

I remember that. Think they said bottles were shooting up like rockets landing blocks away from the explosion/fire.

As some of you may know I am a fire investigator in my life away from cubs - the other day while working a scene I snapped this photo of an M size acetylene cylinder that was exposed to heavy fire in a detached shop. This obviously exploded and I found it 120' from the area of origin. It is constructed of 3/16" steel - just thought it was interesting as many of us have welding / cutting outfits in our shops.

I am going to save this picture for when we go over shop safety in class.....

Al