1st and 2nd degree burns hurt a little...

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RED-85-Z51

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dang.

not chainsaw related, but its the only part of AS Ive ever posted in..haha

On Friday I was enjoying a day off, working in my detached garage/shop on making a custom engine jig for boring small OHV engines, Id been welding, cutting, torching all morning, and it got towards 1 o clock in the afternoon, I was almost done.

I had just finished running a bead on the lower mount on the thing when I realized i needed to brace the back some more to prevent any flex, so I pulled a peice of 1X out of the steel bin and slid it into the chop saw, and it slid off the end of the table..I walked around to the right side of the saw, picked the steel up, slid it in, made my mark and clamped it down..started the cut but this peice of stel was making alot of sparks, so I popped the welders helmet DOWN..and finished the cut. As soon as I heard the steel fall I felt intense heat over my body, I stepped back and fipped the hood up and my face got hit with flames, and my shirt was on fire. All I heard in the mean time was a WHHOOOSHHH.

I patted my shirt down, which was about 80% disentigrated below the chest pockets, and reached for the fire extinguisher..I noticed my arms were red and smoking. I grabbed the extinguisher off the wall, pulled the pin, aimed, and....nothing came out. I guess 20 years is a bit over the shelf life.

I ran to the house, got a pail anf filled it up, then put the fire out..then ran inside to assess the damage. Skin on my face hurt on the right side, lost my Goatee, and a bit of Stache, Sideburns were a wreck, my right arm, on the top side, from the wrist to the elbow was severe 1st degree, with a couple small spots of 2nd degree. My left arm, was burns the same amount but on the bottom of the arm (this is becasue it was still holding onto the chop saw when the fire started.

So I cleaned it all in Dial soap for a while, dried it all off, and slathered on the Silver Nitrate to save the top layer of skin, which will promote healing, and reduce scarring.

The cause of the fire?

The main bench in the shop is bolted to the studs in the wall behind it, apparently the vibes from the chop saw grunting on that last cut shook a rattle can off a shelf on the wall..and when the steel fell off the saw the HOT end punctured the can, causing the paint can to explode in a fireball.

im okay, shop is fine, my face has already peeled and its just a touch red in spots, it will be fine thankfully. My left arm looks better and better, still dark red where the skin has died, but NO INFECTION so far. Right arm, the skin is tough on top, there was some slight blistering on Sunday, but the blistering is gone now..the tough skin is real dark, but I still have sensation i nthe whole arm, and so far it looks like it was all suprficial, again, a tough and stringent cleaning ritual seems to have prevented infection.

I clean both arm 3 times a day with Dial soap, then drench them both in An antiseptic wash for burns, then apply a layer of Silver nitrate, and wrap loosely with a no-stick gauze.

Thank God i can manage pain...only needed 2 tylenol for the whole ordeal. But I dont know what Id have done without the cieling fan in the bedroom...wooo
 
Man you got a set of stones, that has to hurt like hell. Keep a close eye for any sign of infection like you have been. Hope things heal quickly.
 
Ive seen guys catch their flannel shirts on fire from welding or cutting. I thought you were going to say thats what happened. Good thing you had the helmet down. My cousin is a fireman and always stresses fire safety,hed yell at ya for not having extinguisher that worked. Glad your OK.:cheers:
 
The extinguisher read right in the middle of the Green range "Fully charged" when I pulled it off the wall. However when I clicked the trigger, the needle went to "discharged".

So it had leaked down over 20 years, and the needle was stuck. It's on my front burner to do list, next one will be larger, much larger, and it will work too.

The shirt was one of my work uniform shirts, its a light material that burns/disentigrates quickly with very little heat and does not melt to skin...thankfully I was lazy and picked it up that morning. Not even a singed hair on my stomach or chest..thats lucky!

It put a big dark spot on the overhead garage door, so I know at least momentarily the plume go that high. It darkened the edges of the work bench too.

I still havent finished that dang jig yet though...next weekend!:clap:

Didnt go to work today, but Im going to ride up tomorrow and at least be there a while, show the bosses my shirt, then probably come back home to rest and change the bandages out again.
 
Didn't they teach you anything in school? STOP DROP AND ROLL!!!




Sorry to hear about your misfortune!!!





Its not as bad as my poor friends mother, she douced HERSELF with gas and lit the candle. she was in the hispital for months.

I have not seen here due to the fact that they live in Gretna but things like ears, breasts... are not there:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop:
 
red HOT

so, thats why they call you red!
:)

you are fortunate. could have been much worse. glad to hear that it wasn't.

recovery rep sent.


btw. i use ivory on my fresh tattoos. some say that dial has too many surfactants and harms damaged skin while doing all that antibacterial goodness. dial LIT ME UP on one tat before i switched to ivory. darned thing acted just like a burn every time while using dial.
 
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All I can say is...you're one tough hombre. That is NOT normal to be able to deal with burn pain like that. I really hope you heal up quickly. It's obvious you know to keep those burns clean. Infection would be easy to get.
 
You're lucky it wasn't worse Red - and I feel your pain. Had an overheated radiator blow up on me some years ago, got my face, arms and chest. I also made a dark spot on the floor. I haven't eaten lobster since, either. Sunshine or any warmth at all will feel real hot for a while. Glad to hear there's no infection.
 
All I can say is...you're one tough hombre. That is NOT normal to be able to deal with burn pain like that. I really hope you heal up quickly. It's obvious you know to keep those burns clean. Infection would be easy to get.

Heres a guy that had his head cut open and was working on saws before he should have been calling Red a tough hombre. Thats cool.:clap:
 
Skip the dry chemical extinguishers. They make alot of corrosion anyway. Halon or CO2.

Glad you're ok though. Go see a doc now.
 
Yikes!

Heal up quickly, brother! Keep an eye out for infection....... Wacko way to start a fire.......I'll post a super goofy burn story soon, a lot like the paint can, very improbable. Is the silver nitrate a cream like Silvadene? That stuff works WONDERS on 2nd degree burns. Good luck man.
 
Red, glad you are okay, and glad it's 'only' 1st and 2nd degree.


I want to give you a tip on healing:

Coconut oil. Normally, putting oil on a burn is bad news, but not with coconut oil. It's the most amazing thing for burns I've ever seen. Beats aloe vera hands down. Last winter I touched a live coal with the tip of a finger, and put coconut oil on it right away. The next day there was no sign of a burn. It's amazing stuff.

We use it for burns, scrapes, the dog's ear mites (I think it smothers them), and diaper rash. It's the best thing for all of the above we've ever seen.

It's a natural antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral. Cleared up my Mom's severe eczema when the doctors couldn't do anything, not even with steroid creams and all the big guns at their disposal.


You can find it at your local health food store. Usually runs 1-12 bucks a pound around here. Get the organic kind, of course, not the solvent extracted junk.

We buy ours online from www.tropicaltraditions.com We have a large family, so we buy it by the gallon. You would be fine with a pound or so.

PLEASE try it! You'll be glad you did.
 
A little off topic:dizzy: but

Red, you ready to sell that MS260 yet? I know you want another echo....

Still got it, I got a hot lead (no pun intended) on a huge stash of CS520's, 670's, and 8000's that are 0 hours new, but all were straight gasses after Ike. Rep has all of em, I may be getting in on that (alot), hopefully. He said there is at least a couple truck beds full, probably more, they are still trickling in from around the region. Same story every time..."It was workign fine, then locked up". Rep had the dealers confirm a straight gas stick, gave the customer a new one, and had the old one shipped to him...Who says ECHO isnt there for people in a time of crisis?

Stihl wasnt doing that after Ivan.
 
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