It said: "On investigation it is believed that there has been a gas leak externally which has seeped into the living room causing an explosion by an unknown
ignition source blowing out the bay window and starting a fire in the living room."
Additionally, we are engaged in efforts designed to further mitigate wildfire risk on multiple levels by inspecting, repairing and hardening our electrical infrastructure, generating better and more location-specific information about high-threat weather conditions, proactively shutting off power in weather conditions known to pose a serious wildfire threat, and trimming excess vegetation that can damage power lines and create an
ignition source. We are also actively working with state agencies and local communities to develop the shared solutions and coordinated management needed to most effectively address the growing wildfire threat in California."
Whatever the risk, good machine maintenance and hygiene is central to risk mitigation, because a foreign object lodged in front of the laser can be an
ignition source. At the same time, users need to prevent
ignition sources reaching areas of particulate build up--this can be as simple as the use of a spark trap, spark arrestor or inerting powders.
For a fire or explosion to occur, the refrigerant must be released from the refrigeration loop, accumulate to a concentration within the flammable range, and be ignited by a competent
ignition source. The probability of all three events occurring depends upon (1) the type of equipment, (2) the operational state of the equipment, and (3) the location of the equipment.
The fear is that any
ignition source could ignite fumes from the leak, which could in turn mix with petrol fumes.
The automaker is recalling the vehicles because they may leak petrol following a rear-impact crash and a rollover, which in the presence of an
ignition source, increases the risk of fire.
This creates a hotter, longer-lasting
ignition source. It also improves starting and reduces spark plug fouling--something owners we spoke with confirmed.
The presence of a small
ignition source can spark an explosion of leaked flammable clean refrigerants.
Other research has shown a much stronger probability of fuel/lubricant droplets serving as the primary
ignition source [6,11], and a great deal of recent work has focused on understanding the effects of fuel [12,13,14,15] and lubricant [16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23] properties, and the interaction of fuel sprays and lubricating oil in the top crevice region [6,24,25].
A fuel leak in the presence of an
ignition source may increase the risk of fire," Ford said in (https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2016/12/21/ford-issues-two-safety-recalls-in-north-america.html) a statement about the Super Duty vehicles.
Equipment cooling strategies at any of these hazardous locations could not be certified unless the possibility of an
ignition source, such as sparks or high heat from electrical equipment, was eliminated.