unlisted Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 Well I felt this deserved its own thread, plus theres lots of pics, and I did not want to clutter up the accident thread. Okay, heres my "accident" Was at a friends place, (25 Nov, 2006) trying out some new flash/concussion mixes.. about 3 grames. There was a previousily detonated device (mini gerb) on a stick.. now this is the dumb part.. Mount the flash to the same stick, 2" above the burned out gerb. 5.5 feet off the ground. It (flash) had about 15 seconds of visco fuse sticking out of it. wrapped in normal saran wrap. Note: Over here to "play" with pyro (legally) you need to be certified, which I am.. This comes in handy later at the hospital. So anyways, I am in full bunker gear, minus gloves. (recommended by the gov't over here) I am very lucky I was wearing this, or I would be blind right now. So I am just about to light the fuse and I notice the saran wrap warping on the bottom... Before I can process WTF, FLASH! Big bright fireball comes right at me. I guess there was an ember still going in the gerb tube, and it was warm enough to melt the saran, so some flash powder dropped right in and ignited. Oh, did I mention I added charcoal, gold & silver sparkle, concussion, and gunpowder to this flash? Yes, it was quite impressive going off less than a foot from my face. My hands were about 4-6" from it. Anyways, off to the hospital.. Police called because- its not legal to play with explosives over here. Police show up, look at my permits.. and leave. Thank god I have the permit. Or its 10 years in jail, and a 10,000.00 fine. (or something like that, I was on lots of morphene at this point) Anyways, heres some pics.. http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/PICT0013.jpgBefore the accident. Notice the lack of hand protection.http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1671.jpgHelmet after the accident. You cannot really see the scorch mark, but this was a brand new, unused helmet. Notice on the first pic, there is not any marks on it... http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1657.jpghttp://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1664.jpgTwo days after... (yes I am smirking, the drugs are good) http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1666.jpgFour days after... http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1669.jpgSix days after... http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1678.jpghttp://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1685.jpghttp://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1687.jpghttp://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/unlisted8495/100_1695.jpgTwelve days later.. So be careful! I learned the hard way. And TRUST me, its no fun typing with only 2 thumbs. I also have nerve damage from the blast.. No feeling in some fingers. I start Rehab on my hands Next Thursday.
50caliber Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 shit dude that sucks, it looks bloody painful, how long are you in rehab for. I broke my knucles 4 weeks ago and have almost finished rehab.
jacob Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 wow man that has to sting, i've herd that drugs don't do much for burns. get well soon. note to self always, use head shield when useing flash.
Pretty green flame Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 God damn, i know how much burns hurt, i feel for you man. I myself was burned2 years ago, was not pretty (whole palm including my thumb were burned pretty badly), all healed well withouth scars but i lost the sense of touch on my thumb.
BigBang Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 Wow, that, as said, must have sucked! I too can vouch for the pain of burns, but covering most of both hands Compared to this, the nearly singed sack seems like a walk in the park, erm, farm.
hst45 Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 unlisted, thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us. It's always embarassing to tell the rest of the class that you did something that, in retrospect, seems dumb, but I for one appreciate your honesty and use this type of info to improve my safety procedures in the future. I always test wearing at a minimum long pants, long sleve shirt, safety glasses and a hat. I think that I'll add a full face shield and gloves to the "required PPE" list. Thanks again. And by the way, OUCH.
unlisted Posted December 8, 2006 Author Posted December 8, 2006 Yep it does hurt like HELL, and yes it was quite DUMB that i mounted a flash right above the gerb, but it had been out (no smoke) for 15 mins. It smouldered for about 4 mins after, so a total of ~20 mins. Just goes to show me and others, wheres theres no smoke, there MAY be some fire. No idea on rehab time frame yet. Yes it did/does hurt- and the drugs don't do much, they DO take the edge off thou. Oh and the shirt? EVERYONE at the hospital LOVED it! Including the cops.
Mephistos Minion Posted December 9, 2006 Posted December 9, 2006 another 2-3 weeeks you will be good as new. I had burns like that but on the opposite side of my hand. Stops hurting after a while but gets itchy and ther is alot of skin to peel.
Frozentech Posted December 9, 2006 Posted December 9, 2006 Unlisted, thanks for posting that. We wear the same gear for hand-firing displays, with leather gloves being mandatory as well. Bunker gear is great. Last 4th of July one shooter for the same company, at a show about 20 miles from us, caught a cake insert in the face at close range, but that shield saved him. He did get a bloody nose and black eyes just from the impact, but no burns. People just don't realize how *little* energy it takes to injure the human body sometimes, whether calories of heat or foot/pounds of kinetic energy. Combine that with how much energy is in the 'energetic materials' we deal with, and working without protective gear just doesn't make sense ! I am glad you were not injured worse, and wish you a speedy recovery, Unlisted. Oh, another related rule we follow, all cake carcasses, burnt tubes, etc travel away from the show in a seperate truck from *any* unfired product. My personal nightmare would be a smolder in a cake setting off a box of shells or something !
ActionTekJackson Posted December 9, 2006 Posted December 9, 2006 Just a note, those burns on your hands, are a little less than what I recieved to my face and hand.... So I feel your pain man.... no fun.... no fun at all...
rocket Posted December 9, 2006 Posted December 9, 2006 Sadly I would have done the same thing (not wearing gloves that is). I find them annoying to wear, and cant hold a lighter or a match with then easily. Seeing your hands though gives people more reason to wear them and a face shield would hurt ether, I see it saved your face from burns. Hope your hands heal up well.
unlisted Posted December 29, 2006 Author Posted December 29, 2006 UPDATE: Hands doing much better, bandages been off for about one week. Still nerve damage in 4 fingers, had to relearn how to type, but I think I'm doing good. Only (rather strange) issue still is the epidermal layer is not bonding with the dermal layer, nor is that layer wanting to bond to the tendons and muscles. The plastic surgeon says this is due to the severe cooking (yes he said cooking) of the blast- I must of burnt right down to the muscles and tendons. Personally, I've never heard of skin refusing to rebond, but hey, I'm experiencing it right now. Whenever I brush lightly against an object (with the new skin) I get a severe blood blister (that will rupture) in that spot, or my hands will just "shed" or peel off a layer of skin in the affected area. Its really gross looking, but painless (since the nerves are gone) so its both good and bad.. I don't feel the pain, but I go around "painting" objects without realizing it.. Anyways, the surgeon wants the bandages to stay off so they are, and I am still off work until my hands can take a beating...
Pretty green flame Posted December 29, 2006 Posted December 29, 2006 I personaly would leave a thin layer of bandages (so it protects and allows to breathe) left on my hands after that just so it heals until it can take a bit of rough handling, it doesn't seem like a very good idea to expose your hands to rough handling when they are not able to take cope with even the slightest stress. One question though, when you went to have your hands checked did the doctor remove the dead skin or did the skin peel off by itself? I ask this because when i had severe burns to my palm the doctor left the skin on as it protects the new skin beneath from damage. Hope everythings works out OK for you.
unlisted Posted December 29, 2006 Author Posted December 29, 2006 Well I am off work, and basically not doing anything but typing... I barely use my hands at all... Lots of tv, and web browsing. So no rough handling. The only time I injure them is when I do something stupid, like bump into something, and even with bandages, it was not protecting them at all. (same results) The dead skin had to be removed, not all the chemicals washed off, and after a few weeks the dead skin went toxic.. Smelled real bad and burned something terrible, worse than the actual injury. So off to the hospital, and they removed it all for me. (oh was that fun!) I've spoken to some other doctors, and they all have told me to keep them unbandaged, unless going out, than use light bandages. I've been told they need to be exposed as much as possible now. I just hope the skin rebonds soon, my bank acct is getting empty...
Mardec Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Shit shit shit, man this really got me thinking. I should get a permit too, because if I get an accident I think the pain will be the least of my problems Does such a permit cost money or something? Gonna search info right now..
_DB_ Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 I'm pretty sure it does cost. This thread inspired me to start wearing proper hand protection from now on. I'd hate to receive burns such as those.
unlisted Posted December 31, 2006 Author Posted December 31, 2006 Permits do cost $$$.. In Canada, contact Natural Resources Canada. Theres also lots of other "things" you need also, like a full background check, over 18 yrs of age, a person/company/agency willing to sponser you... oh and good luck finding suppliers of chemicals in Canada, I'm STILL LOOKING!!!
artificier Posted February 13, 2007 Posted February 13, 2007 Nice history , still very painfull accident ! whatch out for the next testing ! I suggest sparkler for the fusing and hot temp burning powder ! its safer i alway use my own report comp, the saferLE ever seen !
Mumbles Posted February 13, 2007 Posted February 13, 2007 So, let me get this straight. You're suggesting using a sparkler as a fuse is safer than using visco? Perhaps it's just me, but I don't see the logic in your statement. Granted they require higher ignition temperatures. They also burn more unreliably and with a very large spray of sparks that are relatively long lived. That could result in many more unwanted ignitions.
Swany Posted February 14, 2007 Posted February 14, 2007 Nice history , still very painfull accident ! whatch out for the next testing ! I suggest sparkler for the fusing and hot temp burning powder ! its safer i alway use my own report comp, the saferLE ever seen ! Didn't you get peppered with your own COB shrapnel?
artificier Posted February 14, 2007 Posted February 14, 2007 Yeah ! during my experiment i reveive a shrapnel right on my knee but, Now i use safer explosive in my COB, a mixture of cheap material:30% powdered gold sparkler70% Magnesium flake this stuff its sparkproof in a COB casing, and the sparkler fuse give me lot of time to get away from the salute !
Mumbles Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 Here's a crazy idea to impove safety. STOP USING METAL CASINGS!!! Cardboard is spark-proof as well. 1
ewest Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 Exactly! It takes you all of 1 minute to roll a tube from an old manilla folder or a brown paper grocery bag.
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