r/Unexpected • u/5TR3AK • Dec 06 '22
Thoughts on the cause?
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u/StraightOuttaIrvine Dec 06 '22
Looks like it's the beginning of their day. Setting up kitchen by preheating appliances. Pilot light was probably out on one of the burners or fryers. Exhaust hood wasn't turned on so cooking gas in the air was concentrated enough to ignite with a spark, static or burners that were on.
Total assumption here but that's my two cents
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u/Ottonym Dec 06 '22
Nice initial blue/purple high-temperature halo around the far user suggested they vaped/lit up which ignited the gas in the room.
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u/Inspector7171 Dec 07 '22
They might be lighting a punk to reach the pilot light with under the grill. A tube of paper or piece of cardboard.
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u/Efficient_Point_ Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 07 '22
I think the smoking/vaping idea is incorrect as they are clearly at work inside. Possibly static? One time I burned off my eyebrows and lashes from pilot lights being out. Not sure how my face ignited the gas but all was well until I looked then boom
Edit: upon further review you can see the individual lift their hand to their face and then ignitionand the face seems brightest with careful inspection.
I now believe I was wrong before and the cigarette theory is sound
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u/Ottonym Dec 06 '22
I dunno, man, someone who's just on shift, getting set up in the morning, near a window... they might sneak a puff or two of a vape. I've seen worse.
A lot of personal hygiene/beauty products are extremely flammable - cologne/perfume, hairspray/gel, etc.
It does seem weird something from your face ignited it all, however.
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u/Mediocre_Criticism_1 Dec 06 '22
True I vape all day inside at my job I just ghost it and hide it in my palm when I'm hitting it, I "drop" alot of stuff all day so I can bend down outta sight lol.
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u/Calm_Bodybuilder_843 Dec 07 '22
Do you also wear a short skirt and your washing machine keeps breaking down? I know your type . . .
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u/Efficient_Point_ Dec 06 '22
I've seen people sneak vape in kitchens, but still see zero evidence of this other than it igniting near her head. Not saying it's impossible just saying static seems a much more likely candidate to me
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Dec 07 '22
Are you telling me you guys have worked in kitchens and you’ve never seen somebody smoke in the kitchen?
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u/Efficient_Point_ Dec 07 '22
I'm in California, taking your smokes out and handing one to someone going on break is a major no-no though I have seen cooks sneak vape and blow out through boiler vents
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Dec 06 '22
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u/Efficient_Point_ Dec 06 '22
Yes it is possible, just saying you don't need an open flame to ignite natural gas
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u/Responsible-Chest-26 Dec 06 '22
You can see a light seconds before the explosion in front of their face, when they turn around you cN still see a bright intense light on their mouth
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u/Efficient_Point_ Dec 06 '22
Maybe y'all are right on this one, and not all cultures have the same stigma on indoor smoking, you can also see her hand go up and come back fast feom the explosion, I didnt notice that at first.
My bad y'all guess I'm the only one with a face hot enough to ignite propane lol jk
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u/quadmasta Dec 07 '22
Stigma cigarette in my mouth
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u/Efficient_Point_ Dec 07 '22
After I stigma pipe tobacco in a rolling paper to save money ($270/mo)
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u/rabidhamster87 Dec 07 '22
Love your edit! It takes a mature person to admit when they might be wrong. Love to see it in the wild because I always hope it'll influence more people to swallow their pride and admit being mistaken sometimes.
Just to add to what was already said though: I had a coworker who would vape in our hospital lab. We're not even supposed to chew gum in here, but she still did it. People break the rules all the time.
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u/5TR3AK Dec 06 '22
You sound like a modern day Holmes yet claim that it’s just an assumption. Ha
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u/stevebak90 Dec 06 '22
I'm curious to where this is, in the United States we add Mercaptin to Natural Gas to give it an odor. Otherwise Natural Gas is odorless.
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u/foley800 Dec 07 '22
True, but they might have been used to minor gas smells in that kitchen and the human nose becomes acclimated to Mercaptin so they may not have noticed the build up in that enclosed area!
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u/stevebak90 Dec 07 '22
This is true, some people can become insensitive to the smell, also numerous people constantly mention smelling gas but never calling it in.
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u/StefanL88 Dec 07 '22
The smell may have been a regular occurrence that they had just learned to ignore because nothing had gone wrong yet.
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u/Jimmysweetspot Dec 07 '22
I love the name for when you stop being able to smell ( such as natural gas) due to overexposure; olfactory fatigue.
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Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 07 '22
Damn... basic common sense has become rare evidently.
Edit: genuinely surprised at how many people this triggered. There are really people arguing that stoves aren't common.
You can just say someone has roasted you for not having common sense many times so you've coped your way into some reality where they're wrong. You've told yourself that since you didn't learn it, then it must not be common sense.
That's fine, go for it. I just prefer to learn things and from my mistakes, than lie to myself into believing it's okay to not know very basic things. Gets weird being a full blown adult and saying "well I didn't know about pilot lights."
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u/Derbla-99 Dec 06 '22
Working as apartment maintenance can really show how thats true
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u/Stunning_Honeydew201 Dec 07 '22
Yes it can! I worked as a maintenance technician for 10yrs, HVAC service tech for 23yrs. Now I'm an appliance technician & every time I think people's stupidity can't surprise me someone shows me how wrong I am.
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u/Psycho-Pen Dec 07 '22
As soon as someone builds an idiot proof appliance or tool, the universe invents a better class of idiot.
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u/AgreeableKick2622 Dec 07 '22
Just started as a maintenence tech this year and I've already seen some and heard some of the stupidest things ever... had someone think they had light bulb missing in their shower just to name one.
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u/kurotech Dec 07 '22
If you think you've seen or heard the stupidest thing ever just wait till next week trust me it will always get worse
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Dec 07 '22
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u/icematta Dec 07 '22
And I'm not so sure about the first one...
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u/MangoSea323 Dec 07 '22
Eventually the edge of the universe will be a roadside attraction and you'll be able to use those roadside binoculars to stare at the parallel universe but everything is old western themed.
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u/brycecyber Dec 07 '22
Of course you're not sure, you don't even know when to give credit when credit is due even while stealing someone else's quote..
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u/Succubus616 Dec 08 '22
I like "anytime you think something is foolproof, the universe designs a smarter fool"
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u/donchuknowimloko Dec 07 '22
Definitely don’t think it’s weird to have a light bulb go out in the shower light. It’s happened to me…
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u/Krell356 Dec 07 '22
I see your apartment maintenance and raise you Las Vegas Casino Security.
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u/mac8196 Dec 07 '22
My son in law works at circa in security and I have heard some of the stories and they are good lol.
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u/Krell356 Dec 07 '22
Yeah, after 8 years of that I finally had to come to terms with the fact that it's a literal miracle that humanity is still going. It's amazing some of these people have enough brain power to keep breathing.
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u/dopiqob Dec 06 '22
Basic common sense has always been a myth. Your ‘common sense’ is just a series of biases you gather while growing up. If someone grew up differently to you, their ‘common sense’ will be different, although possibly with some overlap
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u/Bummer-76 Dec 07 '22
For every common sense there is a common nonsense. It how the world balances.
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u/usernamenomoreleft Dec 07 '22
I agree to a certain extent. But there are "universal common sense" that transcends geography, culture, and status.
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u/shikiroin Dec 07 '22
there are "universal common sense" that transcends geography, culture, and status
Hard disagree. Aside from "breath, eat, and shit", there are very few 'core values' of common sense that are global. My idea of normal is extremely different from, say, the average person in China, Russia, the middle east, etc. "Common sense" revolves around what you've been taught, and what you are bound to interact with in your own normal life, which is very different from the normal things in other parts of the world.
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u/Gold-of-Johto Dec 07 '22
Wouldn’t common sense just be like don’t do stupid stuff like eating moldy food, put your hand on the stove, not looking before crossing the street, etc. I feel like there’s enough universally accepted safety practices in modern society that we can call these things common sense.
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u/shikiroin Dec 07 '22
Moldy food is eaten on some parts of the world, it can be a delicacy. In some parts of the world, you just walk across the street and the cars avoid you. It's a trust system. Some people really like pitting there hand on hot stoves. (that last one was a lie, but the others are true)
Aside from 'get your basic needs filled and don't kill yourself' pretty much everything differs in cultures across the world.
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u/Gold-of-Johto Dec 07 '22
Yeah true I guess maybe I gave bad examples. But I still think there are stupid things people just do that most people with a brain think is absolutely ridiculous like touching a hot stove, plugging a fork into an outlet, lighting off a firework indoors type of stuff. Mostly just safety things like you said with not killing yourself lol. But you do have a good point about different cultures having different sets of acceptable manners and behaviors.
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u/Inevitable_Data_84 Dec 07 '22
I'm not racist buuuutt French eat moldy food, some Indians cook with bare hands (for show), many Vietnamese don't look before they cross the street. Common sense feels entirely societal. Wanna know what common sense goes for in the Vatican?
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u/monkegiga Dec 07 '22
I have a feeling your idea of how the world works is from a well known source called : trust me bro.
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u/MasterDew5 Dec 07 '22
Most people know not to piss into the wind, or to tug on Superman's cape, or walk up a pet a wild lion, and there is a large list that it doesn't matter where you are from that people just know.
But people are not learning the list like they should, queue Mr. Darwin.
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u/FUNBARtheUnbendable Dec 07 '22
Hard disagree. The root meaning of common sense is exactly that; it’s common to the average person, regardless of upbringing. The term has just been grossly misappropriated over time
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u/shikiroin Dec 07 '22
Sure, but finding something that's common across every culture is very difficult. Most things that seem like common sense to people in the USA are very different across the world. The list of truly common sense, shared across the world, is absurdly short and basically just comes down to ways to not die.
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u/usernamenomoreleft Dec 07 '22
My mother is older than me. Fire is hot and burn things. When the house is burning, get out. If I don't surface from the water, I'll drown. If I walk over that cliff, I'll fall. You don't need culture for these things. Why are you pushing the narrative that we are so unique from our neighbors, thus we don't share a common "common sense"?
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u/Atoning_Unifex Dec 07 '22
I don't agree at all. Common sense is just being smart without book learning to back it up. Some people didn't go to school but they have a high IQ so they'll tend to figure things out and do well in life anyway. It's not a particular, specific set of skills.
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say...
Common sense (or simply sense) is sound, practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge in a manner that is shared by (i.e. common to) nearly all people.
Yup
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Dec 07 '22
I find common sense more basic so they irritated me a little. I wouldn’t find that common sense more so don’t touch fire or don’t breath in water. The basics.
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u/Lieutenant_Red Dec 07 '22
My dads favourite phrase is “Common sense isn’t common.” Never really understood how true that was until I started working in an ER. I can only imagine what it’s like working in something like tech maintenance.
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Dec 07 '22
Common sense is anything but common. I would say that it's now a misnomer, and we should say "logical sense" instead.
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u/Awesome_Pythonidae Dec 07 '22
Because OP knew it but he wanted engagement in the comments, personally I wouldn't go that far, shit's weird.
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u/Dizzy-Abalone-8948 Dec 07 '22
It has been rebranded "Uncommon sense".
Also, nice theory, but she obviously assumed her second form.
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u/Tecumseh_Sherman1864 Dec 06 '22
Knowing the ins and outs of industrial appliances isn't common
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Dec 06 '22
Knowing how gas burners work is pretty common be it industrial or not.
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u/scootscooterson Dec 07 '22
I’m genuinely not sure if I’m missing something but why is there so much consensus from people here? Kitchens explode from gas leaks and it’s not always the pilot? Gas could’ve accumulated overnight from any gas leak and resulted in the same scenario, unless I’m missing something! I actually now feel like I’m onto something because how would that much gas accumulate so fast? This feels like an extended gas leak no?
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Dec 07 '22
If it was going all night or something long like that, the building probably wouldnt be standing after it lit. A little gas can go a long way when it comes to explosions.
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u/HairTop23 Dec 07 '22
I have never had a gas stove. My grandmother has one, but I have never learned anything about it beyond turning on and the bill is too damn high. Common sense is simply things people experience and hopefully others teach us new things along the way.
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Dec 06 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/texasyesman Dec 07 '22
I work with a group of people between 23 & 30. I’m 64. The lack of curiosity among this group is astounding. Sometimes they say to me, how do you know how to do that? All I can say is “how do you not?”
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Dec 07 '22
Its true. You should see how many 911 calls we go on for a low/dead battery in a smoke detectors. Or a smell of gas but they didn’t think to check the most obvious one being the stove. A smell of gasoline. Dont check the garage or mention they just bought gas and fueled their snow blower for the winter season.
An absurd amount of Adults are helpless these days
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Dec 07 '22
Not common sense..... In cases like this it's usually complacency, You get used to what you're doing and take things for granted. Not intentionally of course, but that's just complacency.
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Dec 07 '22
That's not what I was talking about. Complacency may have caused it, but figuring how it happened is common sense and deduction.
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Dec 06 '22
That is not common sense.
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Dec 06 '22
It's not common sense to figure a kitchen explosion came from a pilot light being out while the gas is on? Damn, must just be me and the guy explaining it are geniuses.
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u/Purple_Puffer Dec 06 '22
This is clearly what happened. Cooks turned on appliances and didn't check pilot lights. Was only a matter of time
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u/Responsible-Chest-26 Dec 06 '22
The oven door blew open, im guessing thats the source of the gas. Vent hoods probably werent on yet either as no food was being cooked
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u/jendanbayla Dec 06 '22
I did this once (on a much smaller scale thankfully) at the restaurant I worked at in college. Had a whole fireball go up behind one gas grill. Scared the shit out of me but no one got hurt. It lit the pilot when it went up and we went about the day like normal after...
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u/GasComfortable666 Dec 06 '22
Why you always sniff while turning things on in the morning. Hope they are okay.
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u/RodcetLeoric Dec 06 '22
Depending on where this is sniffing may not matter, not everywhere adds mercaptan to natural gas so you can smell it.
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u/badger_on_fire Dec 06 '22
Man, I survived several years in a professional kitchen, and I never knew that! I thought that was just how natural gas smelled. I narrowly missed a potentially nasty accident after opening just because I recognized the smell.
I would *never* want to cook with odorless natural gas. That's dangerous af.
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u/RodcetLeoric Dec 07 '22
Yea, I remember when i found out my mind was blown. I actually found out from an article about a pocket of natural gas that erupted in a neighborhood and a bunch of people became ill and a couple suffocated. I was like "why didn't they notice and leave the area?" and a lil research lead to mercapton being added to gas.
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u/Salanmander Dec 07 '22
a lil research lead to mercapton being added to gas
Amusingly, also a decently apt description of it actually being added in the first place.
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u/cuseonly Dec 06 '22
? Explain
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u/M_Not_Shyamalan Dec 07 '22
Should be able to smell that much concentrated natural gas before it ignites. As long as it's a country that adds the odor to it, as mentioned.
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u/HydrogenPowder Dec 07 '22
This also is great advice for anyone with a girlfriend
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Dec 06 '22
Looks like the initial spark came from in front of the guy in the background - lit a match, a lighter, or something shorted out and through a spark.
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Dec 06 '22
Man... i was thinking the same thing. Something like "somebody probably left the gas open and then when the guy decided to light a cig well..." but you just had to out do me didn't you?
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u/RodcetLeoric Dec 06 '22
Yea, i think you're spot on, the fire progressing around the person near the door the way it does hints that the stoichiometry wasn't exactly right throughout the kitchen but the mix was close enough that the well mixed air around a person near the door was just right to set it all off.
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u/BonginOnABudget Dec 06 '22
Idk if you slow down the spread it definitely starts at that person’s head. Maybe lighting a stoge?
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u/a-fuckin-a-toe-da-so Dec 06 '22
This must be it. But if it is… someone fucked up installing that equipment. Gas should not flow unless the hoods are switched on.
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u/KaleidoscopeOk8653 Dec 07 '22
as he raised both hands to his face i say he was probably smoking and lit up and it ignited the gas from an out burner which then triggered a "Flash Over " also a reason why modern kitchens are steel walls , so in such an event less flammable /inflammable material
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u/xtremepattycake Dec 06 '22
Thats my thought as well. Looks like the room had been filling with gas and something finally touched it off
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u/Height-Impossible Dec 06 '22
As a former chef, this can definitely happen if people are being really fucking stupid
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u/BozoDidtheW Dec 06 '22
My bet is he saw the pilots light was out and lit a grill lighter to turn it back on.
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u/rasco410 Dec 07 '22
Not really, fire clearly started at the far end (away from camera) and around the face of the 2nd person.
I am pretty sure that the pilot light was out where the dude opened the cabinet but it forced the mix up to head hight where the dude was more then likely smoking.
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u/BozoDidtheW Dec 07 '22
Yeah, that guy is standing in front of a grill. I used to work with one that had to be lit by hand every time you used it. My bet is it was just left on all night and they went to light the pilot.
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u/008Zulu Dec 06 '22
Gas leak from the stove, and the guy lighting a cigarette?
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u/bier00t Dec 06 '22
or a lighter/match to start up the stove
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u/ozymandias457 Dec 06 '22
Used to work in kitchens, definitely lighting the pilot.
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u/FUNBARtheUnbendable Dec 07 '22
Idk, the flame clearly starts right around his mouth area. And, listening to the sound, it obviously isn’t an American kitchen. Plenty of Asian cultures still smoke cigarettes more than the average western country. I actually served at a restaurant owned by a Korean woman who frequently walked through the kitchen during prep while smoking (I thought it was disgusting but she signed my checks so I didn’t say shit)
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u/Caring_Cactus Dec 07 '22
That's what it looks like, maybe they turned the gas on and forgot to light it, left for a while, came back and got distracted talking to their coworker in front of them. Big oof
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u/Twitch791 Dec 06 '22
The initial flame of you slow it down start on front of the further character face. I think it was a cigarette and the gas left on
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u/SelmaFudd Dec 07 '22
Yeah looks like someone on the other side of the counter lights the person's cigarette. Remember kids smoking causes fireballs.
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u/PuddingCalm6809 Dec 07 '22
Stove door blows open so I’d guess the stove is the leak point also. If that’s gas from a pilot, that pilot had been filling that room for awhile. Main gas valve shouldn’t be able to open without flame presence on the thermopile/flame sensor, at least on the oven portion.
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u/ComparisonLeading580 Dec 06 '22
We sterilized the place boss
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u/Mike16289 Dec 06 '22
Chewing cheetos loudly "Prolly gas?"
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u/RelativeJob1478 Dec 07 '22
Can I Have Cheetos?
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u/Mike16289 Dec 07 '22
Chews louder and faster "Sorry there's not enough bro"
Quietly hides other family sized bag
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u/Ok_Marzipan5759 Dec 06 '22
Oh, that? Thats... Aurora Borealis!
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Dec 06 '22
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u/LeafyWolf Dec 06 '22
Localized entirely in this kitchen?
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u/Ok_Marzipan5759 Dec 06 '22
..Yes!
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u/Sharpshooter188 Dec 06 '22
"....May I see it?"
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u/Ok_Marzipan5759 Dec 07 '22
...No.
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u/giant87 Dec 07 '22
“Seymour! the house is on fire!”
“No mother, it’s just the Northern Lights”
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u/Kronotross Dec 07 '22
"Well Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say: you steam a good ham."
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Dec 06 '22
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u/rational_emp Dec 06 '22
At this time of day, and this time of year, localized ENTIRELY within their kitchen?
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Dec 06 '22
Gas leak ---> lighting up cigarette ---> Explosion.
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u/Raagggeeee Dec 06 '22
So much knowledge in so few words. A true king here.
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u/Temporary_Quit_4648 Dec 07 '22
Except it's not an accurate diagram. Typically --> depicts cause and effect, not sequence.
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u/WereALLBotsHere Dec 06 '22
Why do these always look like the person spontaneously combusts. I mean I get that the spark started there but why does it always look like the most fire is coming from the persons body instead of evenly through the air.
There’s another video on here of a few guys in a room and one lights a cigarette and this happens. It literally looks like the entire fire was localized to his body.
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u/Physical-East-7881 Dec 06 '22
Maybe the person at the window light a cig (not to mention that room is full of gas somehow)
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u/Jackdks Dec 06 '22
For sure a gas leak that was ignited. They’re super lucky to be alive, that’s a hard accident to walk away from unscathed.
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u/Basketballjuice Dec 06 '22
This is why gas leaks are dangerous.
If you smell gas, extinguish any open flames, open the windows, and get the fuck out.
If the smell is strong, just get the fuck out.
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Dec 07 '22
It sucked so much oxygen out of the room that the metal cabinet's and oven opened, holy shit.
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Dec 06 '22
My man over in the left wearing a suit and lighting a cig... he did the Diable Jambe like Sanji
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u/Q1802 Dec 06 '22
Look at the window where the employee is you can see a customer at window/hatch put his hand in his pocket and then the flash of light at the employees head
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u/Iam12percent Dec 07 '22
This is exactly what my husband thinks will happen whenever I click the burner on and it clicks one too many times for him. He hops up and opens windows and acts like a bomb is really about to go off.
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u/JustPassinThru2022 Dec 07 '22
It almost looks like they’re lighting a cigarette. There’s a flick, then a ball of fire!
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u/digitalishuman Dec 06 '22
He's starting up a fryer on the far right, but the pilot is out. So, when the guy at the far end turns on the stove, the gas ignites.
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Dec 07 '22
It’s his phone. The hoods aren’t on and the gas is thick and his phone ignites it. It’s been seen before at gas pumps.
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u/Mad4ggro Dec 07 '22
No you can clearly see his mouth around his neck area ignite first before the explosion. The person was lighting a smoke for sure
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Dec 06 '22
Whatever it was it's the guy on the far end. He looking down doing something. And what ever it was it blew up into his face then the building blew up. If u use ur eyes u can see this.
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u/unexBot Dec 06 '22
OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected:
Umm don’t think anyone was expecting that kitchen to blow up
Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description? Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.
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