Ottawa student dies after explosion at school

Okay I'll bite: Why was there a barrel of peppermint oil in the auto shop class? Also, how does a barrel of peppermint oil explode?

It was an empty barrel that had been brought in as material for the class to use to manufacture bar-b-ques.


When you put a cutting torch to it, to turn it into a bar-b-que, without carefully cleaning it first.

Many years ago I saw a guy sitting on an old empty 5 gallon paint thinner can while welding. Sparks from the welder ignited the fumes and it blew up and sent him 10' in the air and started his clothing on fire. Badly shaken he survived with only a good headache and some singed hair. This paint can had been empty for probably months as well. I can only imagine what a 55 gallon drum would look like when it went off from the sparks. I have a feeling that whoever was in charge of cleaning the barrels (usually steam washed) didn't do a good enough job.

RIP, my work mate, you're in the world where are no exams, shit-lections and assholic proffesors.

Epic fail on the part of the shop teacher.

That thing should be been either a new barrel or a used barrel full of water to prevent things like this from happening.

Nah, just give it to the Chemistry class to blow up on the school lawn first.

Yes, this teacher is going to have some 'splaining to do, but you aren't suggesting that you should fill a barrel with water before you go about cutting it in half, are you?

Actually that does seem to be the protocol. I guess getting a bit wet is better than getting blown up.

Yes, this teacher is going to have some 'splaining to do, but you aren't suggesting that you should fill a barrel with water before you go about cutting it in half, are you?

Yes, that's how you cut tanks/barrels that were previously filled with a flammable substance.

I stand corrected. But that would make a hell of a mess in a classroom...less of a mess than was actually made in this case, granted.

It was an empty barrel that had been brought in as material for the class to use to manufacture bar-b-ques.


When you put a cutting torch to it, to turn it into a bar-b-que, without carefully cleaning it first.

Thank you kindly for the explanation. I'm quite sure I would be lying awake at night trying to figure this one out.

My first thought was that the barrels would have been purchased or acquired in a "clean" state. Don't think I'd trust any of the equipment available at a school to do a good enough job. Another method that I've seen with old fuel drums is to run an exhaust hose into the barrel as it is being cut, but that is still after it has been steam cleaned well.
Hopefully it isn't the teacher's fault.

What's fucked about this is that steam cleaning doesn't even cost that much. Nor does finding a supplier and simply buying some brand new barrels instead of dicking around with one that's been sitting in a shop or in someone's garage for God only knows how long.

This is gonna be a big lawsuit, and rightfully so, if this kid died just because someone was being cheap and/or lazy.

I doubt a shop teacher knew that peppermint oil is explosive. Not many people would. I used to go and get the hazardous material books that Occupational Health and Safety used to publish, because they were great tips on what to mix together to blow stuff up. Who would have thought calcium carbide and silver nitrate, for example, could be so much fun?