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Paso Robles man lights a cigarette, blows up his RV

March 23, 2020

By CCT STAFF

A Paso Robles man’s attempt to build an oxy-acetylene torch went terribly wrong on Saturday afternoon after he lit a cigarette and the propane tank he was working with exploded, knocking out the side of his RV and a window in a nearby house, according to a neighbor who was at the house.

Responding to reports of the explosion on the 200 block of Santa Ysabel Avenue, Paso Robles police officers and firefighters arrived at the scene to find the RV destroyed and pieces of Darrel Penner’s cell phone stuck in his head. Penner had been watching an instructional YouTube video when the tank exploded.

The explosion tore the propane tank in half.

Emergency medical personnel transported Penner to Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, where he was treated for his injuries and then released.


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“Doh”


4

Propane cannot be used for gas welding as can acetylene, only cutting. They are not interchangeable. And why would you “build” one? What does that even mean? My grandfather’s serves me fine, or you could buy a cheap Chinese, but certified and legal, one at Harbor Freight. I’m glad the hillbilly just has another story to tell and was not seriously injured. And the cigarette is the icing on the cake. A cigarette while experimenting with flammable gasses. I don’t want to be one pump over at the gas station. Just one more thing; could one watch YouTube videos directly with cell phone parts stuck in your head?


8

Does the warranty on the cellphone cover getting pieces of it stuck in your head?


4

If you’ve used a “rodenator” or other ground squirrel and gopher-percussive device on the ranch or farm, you know that propane and welding oxygen can make a cheery little blast when mixed stoichiometrically and ignited. There’s a satisfying and effective anti-rodent subsurface boom when those chemical bonds release their energy.


This guy should have taken his little McGyver project to a knowledgeable certified welder.


3

Welding on an empty container with fuel residue (fumes) is extremely dangerous.


5

There lay the coyote and the roadrunner said, “meep meep”.


10

Idiot. But then anyone who smokes is an idiot.


11

Darwin Award nomination…..


42

i’m glad the guy is OK and i feel terrible for him….but look at what smoking, a cell ‘phone & social media get ya. just sayin’. maybe Harbor Freight was in order.


32