A plumber was in the process of heating up some copper piping to ready it for brazing. They had run the hoses from the oxy-acetylene cylinders, which were stored in an aluminium frame in the rear of the worker’s utility to his work area, which was approximately 30 metres away. A short time after the worker ignited the gas at the blowpipe end, he heard an explosion outside. He went outside and saw his work vehicle engulfed in flames. No-one was injured in this incident, but there was significant potential for serious injury or death.
Flashback arrestors were fitted to both the operator’s side of the cylinders and to the blowpipe.
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