A Painful Pipe-Lighting Mishap
A local man suffers severe burns after gasoline residue on his hands ignites.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Frank P. McGuire is temporarily laid up for repairs as the result of an attempt to light his pipe last Friday. Mr. McGuire, who had been working with his car at the garage of the Twin City Auto Co., washed his hands in gasoline and after wiping them started to light his pipe. Both hands immediately burst into flames and before the gasoline in the pores had burned itself out, painful wounds had been inflicted. The burns on the right hand were only superficial but the back of the left was seared to the bone and it will be several weeks before the wounds have been healed.
“Both hands immediately burst into flames and before the gasoline in the pores had burned itself out, painful wounds had been inflicted.”
This incident highlights the hazardous nature of early automotive repair, where gasoline was used as a common solvent for mechanics. While modern safety protocols have evolved, the dangerous combination of fuel and open flames remains a classic industrial hazard.
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