Danger of Using Gas as Cleaner Demonstrated

Los Angeles fire officials graphically showed the dangers of using gasoline as a cleaning fluid Thursday by igniting a demonstration fire on the charred site of a gasoline explosion that left a Sun Valley man critically injured and his family homeless.

Antonio Salazar, 36, suffered burns on 85% of his body when the garage apartment he rented with his wife and seven children exploded in flames Saturday after gasoline vapors ignited the pilot light on the water heater, Fire Department spokesman Steve Ruda said.

Salazar remained in critical condition Thursday at County-USC Medical Center after the fire that gutted his residence in the 11300 block of Sheldon Street near Wentworth Street, Ruda said.

“He was lucky he didn’t breathe the flames. His face and chest were the only places that didn’t receive third-degree burns,” said paramedic Cori Tipton, who answered the emergency call. “That’s the only reason I think he is still alive.”

The fire began when Salazar used gasoline to clean an automobile carburetor he was repairing in the garage and apparently left the windows closed, allowing vapors to reach a water heater pilot light eight feet away, Tipton said.

The scorched pieces of the disassembled carburetor remained on the floor of the burned building Thursday, apparently where Salazar dropped them when the fire started. Burnt toys and children’s clothes littered the area nearby.

After the explosion, Salazar rushed outside the garage, where he was aided by family members while neighbors tried to douse the flames. In such fires, Ruda said, victims should roll on the ground to smother the flames.

Salazar’s family is receiving assistance from the First Baptist Church of Arleta, which is also seeking permanent shelter for the family, authorities said.

Ruda and Firefighter Bill Stace set off a fire using gasoline vapors and a simulated pilot light at a news conference at the site.

“People should simply never use gasoline, paint thinner and other solvents to clean their homes,” fire safety officer Stace said. “Only use approved cleansers.”

“The vapors are heavier than air and they can get down underneath a pilot light very easily if a room is not properly ventilated,” Ruda said.

Fire officials decided to stage the demonstration after Salazar was burned in one of two such incidents in a three-hour period Saturday. In the other, a 22-year-old woman was critically burned in downtown Los Angeles while using gasoline to clean her floor, Ruda said. Apparently the fumes also were ignited by the pilot light in her stove, he said.