I almost lost my arm, when a hot trailer tire I was inspecting blew a split second after I took my hand away from feeling the temperature. It wasn't that hot, but the tread area started "Squirming" and "twisting", indicating to me, separation was eminent. It blew a 1 ft by 2 ft piece of hardwood trailer decking out of the sound deck of my 48 ft flatbed trailer, and almost took my arm. My only injuries were temporary as my ears shut down for 3 hrs. I also have 2 friends die while servicing truck tires. One while welding a rim crack, and one inflating a brand new tire flat on the ground. It launched him through the metal roof of a 4 story tire warehouse. Tire cages save lives, remote fill chucks with locking chuck ends save too. Even just bringing the tire up to correct pressure for maintenance, it's a good practice to NOT stand in front of or lean on the tires as you inflate. And watch for strange tire movements while doing it. Have a plan to get clear, and not trapped between the tire and another immovable object.( A truck your parked next to, a wall ect). RIP Mike Height and Mr Kibbe.
I could not have said it better. My dad twice had one tire blow and took out the rear tires on a semi. I was on a bus that had a tire blow. Sounded like a shot gun and blew dust in the cab. These things are not to mess with.
We have a quarry in our district and I've known about this for years. These tires actually DO detonate. They should be treated just like you'd treat the end of a propane tank. Stay 45 degrees from the side of the tire, and as far back as you can. Use a 2 1/2" line minimum, a ground monitor is preferred. Also use a TIC to monitor temperatures. Any large truck tire, construction or ag equipment tire can do this so treat them accordingly. The larger tires on mine equipment can reach up to 1,000 psi before they explode. Tires can enter a chemical decomposition called pyrolysis, which you can't stop. Even if the valve is removed from a tire, it can still build up pressure faster than it can be vented. Pyrolysis can also occur from overheated brakes, contact with electric lines, or welding on the rim with the tire on. Any tire that has been exposed to high heat needs to be isolated for at least 24 hours. It makes me wince when I see guys just run right up to semi's on fire, knowing even one of those tires can seriously injure or kill you.
Thanks. I wish more people were seeing this. Should be posted in every business that sells tires. All tires. And every construction site break room. Most dangerous occupations have a safety director of some kind. They should all be teaching it. Also, most jobs I’ve been on, heavy equipment did not get proper maintenance. If it started up in the morning, it was good. I grew up on a farm, so by the time I went out into the world I knew “farmer physics”, from accidents on the farm. Some people died. Like most farms, we had a full shop, doing the majority of repairs ourselves. The only work I remember being hired out was tires, and we had tire mounting equipment but my Grandfather drew a line at large tires and paid for it, which was unusual, and I was today years old when I fully understood why. I knew they were dangerous, but this is incredible force, all tunneled into a kill zone by the equipment and fender wells, focused at ground level. Plus, any debris or materials between the blast and you would be a problem. Great contribution, thanks again for taking the time!
As a LACo Firemen, I appreciate the respect you showed in this video. Andrew is a great firemen, and this could have happened to any of us. This job is incredibly dangerous and we all must learn from those who came before us. Honor him and get out there to save lives!
heavy equipment tires are constructed differently then automotive tires. on the semi I drive, the steer tires have 110 psi and the drives have 95 psi! those front loaders operate at double or triple that. they also use multiple piece rims. the DOT outlawed them on semi trucks back in the late 80's early 90's.
It is internationally recognized amongst the mining community that tyre fires are deadly and most mines forbid the fighting of such fires. Sad and unnecessary loss of life.
In the UK commercial tyres when fitted are inflated in a cage & have been for over 40 years. Also on axles with twin tyres the split rings have to Face each other. So in a catastrophic failure it's contained ( safer) as a number of life's were lost.
As an air force firefighter in the 1980, we were trained to approach at a 45 degree angle to hot brakes on aircraft. Not sure if or how many lives were saved but they didn't make that SOP up without some hard lessons. I need to learn more about this directive on semi-truck fires. I think the risk vs cargo is an important factor. Tires do not blow up everyday, but unchecked hazardous cargo burning might blow-up on a downtown street. I am not saying the directive is wrong, I just need to learn more about it and how to apply it to over the road semi-trucks.
I worked for a tyre company, years ago. I remember the lads showing me a photo of the imprint of someone who passed away, when a tyre he was inflating exploded...I've never forgotten that awful image 😢 R.I.P. Andrew
Reminds me of an accident at a service station some years ago, not fire related. An individual had just replaced a tyre on a 4wd split rim unit. They were pumping it up at a local service station when the locking ring came off. The result was instant death. We handle things that are everyday items with little respect as the failures are rare and they happen "to the other guy". Sad that this happened but thank you for this video as it reminds all of us how fragile life really is.
R.I.P. As an authorized pressure vessel, process piping inspector, and former certified auto mechanic, pressure of any kind deserves attention and respect. Particularly, items that do not have overpressure protection. Watch a video of a "harmless" basketball exploding, and you will become a believer.
A tire on one of our tractor trailers killed a motorcycle rider that was next to it on the highway. This happened about a dozen years ago. Never stay next to a truck on the highway. A lot of large loader, crane, and other equipment use nitrogen instead of air in the tires. We had nitrogen fill stations in all our quarries and pits.
I remember this incident as reported by the mainstream media. I am not a FF, or in anyway related to the tire or trucking industry, but I was amazed that this man died from a tire explosion. In the original story, the media just reported that he died for tire explosion with no details. I didn't realize how dangerous these commercial tires were until this video and reading the comments. RIP sir.
I was born in 1957 and I clearly remember as a young child, a photo in a New York City newspaper, probably the Times or Daily News, that showed the devastation caused by a tire explosion. I have no idea how old I was, this probably happened in the 1960's, but the shocking photo burned itself into my memory as if I had the photo here today. The poor photographer must have come to the scene immediately afterwards. On the ground was an adult, possibly the father, and a child, both in fetal positions, naked, their cloths completely torn away. Standing over the bodies was the wife and mother, her expression of total horror, arms raised with hands about her face as she screamed. I have no idea when I last thought about this news paper photo, but after 50 to 60 years, this detail all came flooding back, triggered from watching this video. I never read the accompanying article, though I must have read enough to understand that this was a tire explosion, and my memory has repeatedly proven to preserve accurate information over huge lengths of time. Even to this day, I am still very cautious about tires and their associated risks and threats. My heart goes out to the family.
One of the things we had drummed into us when i was working in mining was that if a tyre was on fire or directly affected by fire the best thing to do is get out of there and prevent anyone else from entering untill it either exsplodes or the pressure can be release in a "controled" way.
Only last week I was blowing up a wheel barrow tyre, and as I bent down to remove the pump the tyre exploded. Was so loud gave me a bit of a shock and I was very lucky that nothing hit my face. I can imagine that scaled up to the size of a tyre on a big earth mover.
When I heard “One year away from retirement”, I couldn’t hold back the tears…. A firefighter’s death in the line of duty is always heartbreaking. May he RIP.
Very sad. I worked for a large government fleet services department for 37 years. We had a guy killed when a regular pickup truck tire exploded. He was inflating the tire after mounting it. He was supposed to be doing that from a distance, but for some reason was standing right next to it when it over inflated and exploded. Don't underestimate the danger of an inflated tire. The effect of too much pressure in a tire is very similar to a pipe bomb.
I was coming home from a friends house when i saw the ladders and trucks and rigs on the overpasses and I knew. Later on i saw the procession several miles in front of me. Made me very sad for the rest of the drive home
Seems like to me you should take this to the NTSB and ask them to mandate a redesign of the tire/wheel assembly. Replacing the tire stem with a combined filler pressure relief device.
The Road Administration will jist refuse to follow the NTSB recommendations (just like the FAA keeps ignoring the NTSB's recommendations) Crazy people will immediately call 'goverment overreach !!!' And all people right on the political spectrum will immediately call it 'communism' So the only thing that will happen are 'thoughts and prayers' an more people will die just as usual in 'Murica
I kinda cringed when you said “detonated” but that’s just what it is. I’m sorry for the loss of your co-worker, but grateful that you’re bringing awareness to an overlooked deadly hazard.
When the rear out side tire on my semi blew I was told I was lucky to be alive. I have pieces of my safety glasses embedded in one eye, my face was partly torn off, fractured skull, and a brain injury. To this day I can not eat solid food, I am having constant pain in my teeth and a loss of memory, sciatica from being thrown backwards. Now I am totally unemployable, so don't mess around with tire safety.
my first thought was the tire exploding, but no one said the tire exploding could have caused it. they all kept saying its under investigation. to me, it was the only obvious conclusion. the firefighters backed away and didnt retrieve their fallen brother until way later. they must have known he died since they werent helping him or transporting him. they didnt risk thier lives to move him so they knew he died (obvious trauma?). this video is the first time since that i have seen someone talk about it.
I never realized that large tires were a greater threat than the fire itself. My respect for firefighters just went a notch higher. So many hazards in that line of work.
A friend of mine was removing semi truck tire from the axle. It blew right in his hands. His fingers were mangled pretty badly, had hands in cast and bandages for well over a year.
So sad, this world is a dangerous place, for all of us. I am thankful for all of the training that helps keep our people safer, especially those that choose careers such as fire fighters. My heart goes out to andrew and his family.
Im surprised a tire with this much energy doesn’t incorporate some sort of relief valve inside the rim or elsewhere, similar to other pressure vessels. Such a sad loss
Potentially lethal tire explosions are more common than you might imagine. Many just blow out the sidewall for no obvious reason when no one is around. Federal Highway Administration back in the 90's had a be on the lookout for a potentially failing tire. The event as described by survivors were there was sound of a zipper being unzipped then an explosion with rubber from the tire. Eventually it was found the steel belts were rusting and especially on retreads. The tires no longer had the strength in the sidewall and would just give out. Airplane tires for large jets were and probably still are limited to 10 retreads before disposal. Don't know about truck tires other than no retreads on the steer position.
Nope. Pressure does NOT rise too much. We live not at 0 degrees but at 273K, so even if tyre air heated to +300C the pressure will rise just twice, and 4 times at +900C which is impossible, tyre rubber will burn thru or decompose long before this. The problem is not in pressure but in vast energy stored in compressed gas (air in this case). As soon as tyre bursts (when rubber burns to the point when it can not keep the pressure) all this energy liberates almost instantly, directly in mechanical form, very effective to accelerate debris and send it to fly. Its the reason why vessels, pipes and so on never pressure tested with gas, only with liquids - leaks and cracks do not cause explosion in this case, as liquid can not expand without instant pressure loss. And why big tyre shops has special precautions like protection chambers from rebars, barriers and equipment with controls far away from where tyre is. Worse case is only steam vessel burst, where energy stored not only as compressed gas (steam) but as overheated water or other liquid (fuel in sealed tank), this energy instantly converts to gas pressure and continues to feed expansion process.
Your math is wrong. Kelvin temperature is irrelevant. The pressure rises in proportion to delta-T, not absolute temperature and its gauge pressure, not absolute. June in California desert is easily 33°C. Raise the temperature to 330°C and the pressure increases from 145psi (10bar) to 1450psi (100bar) and that is what blows it up. The applicable equation is Boyle’s law: P1V1/T1=P2V2/T2, double the temperature and the pressure will double in constant volume.
@@QwazyWabbit Physics does not make errors. T in the Boyles formula is absolute temperature, Kelvin. So if you double the temperature, from 300K to 600K, - the pressure doubles, not 10 folds. As simple illustration - what happens, by your theory, if we heat tyre from 1C to 30C (which is absolutely normal range for tyre when descending from snowy 2km high mountains to sea coast, 100km drive and thats it)? The pressure rises 30fold? The pressure can rise more but only if it not an ideal gas, not subject to Boyle law but something else happens - evaporation of liquid, thermal decomposition of rubber and so on, changing substance properties. For example if you take cylinder of CO2 (liquid under 70 atm pressure and 20C) and heat it up to the same 300C it explodes, as pressure rises way more than twice, instead of liquid/gas mix it will be supercritical gas. The same cylinder with O2 or N2 will more or less follow Boyle.
Some of these side tire shops have no idea about this. I went to one to get a spare tire replaced, I didn’t think anything of it but the next day I just thought to take it out of my trunk and check the tire pressure on it. It was over 100 psi. I hurried and let the air out to drop down to 33 psi. I guess you don’t need any safety training to open a new & used tire shop in Maryland.
This is a hazard many have fallen foul of over the years unfortunately. Has happened to more then one welder doing repairs on cracked rims on industrial equipment like this.
Most of these heavy equipment tires are filled with calcium chloride and mixing it with water results in a high heat exothermic reaction. I am surprised the fire department was not aware of this potential danger? As a veteran equipment operator we are grilled on the danger all the time!
Large tires are very dangerous to nearby personnel when they blow up - NASA even built a special robot called TAV to drill holes into damaged space shuttle tires to make them blow up in controlled way without risking injury to people.
Ordinary public just are not aware how dangerous are these huge tires. DO NOT loiter around big rigs on a highway. They have enough pressure to flip over a car!
It's important information for us all. Trucks are everywhere, and we never know when we may encounter a traffic accident resulting in a fire. Stay back, stay alive!
Well, I have seen one where a "tech" was welding on one of these wheels, and the tire split in an X on the top, and one of the triangle shaped flaps folded around the side and down, and took him off at the waist. And I've seen 3 piece split rims come apart catastrophically as well. I have personally had 4 brand new semi tires fail during inflation over the years. Sidewall gave out. They call it a zipper.
I'm a semi owner. I get so nervous when another vehicle just hangs out next to any of my wheels. My steer tires are 120 psi. while the rest are 110 psi. I hate to think what could happen if I were to blow a tire with a car just feet away from it. And I would be the one getting sued.
RIP Andrew Pontius, and may God ease the pain of his family. Exploding tires are no joke, I worked for a man who was seriously injured when one of the tires on his boat trailer burst the rim. Big tires can be dangerous!
We all face dangers daily of one sort or another, but do we rush to the scene like a First Responder does? My sincere condolences to his immediate family and his brothers / sisters in the firefighting community.
There's nothing worse then watching a great channel like yours and seeing a stinking e-bike ad entry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALWAYS an RIP to, our 1st responders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Invention. Portable firewall / blast shield. A barrier large enough for two equiped operators to shield behind while approaching a fire. The design is similar to a folding hand furniture truck in construction and operation. It consists of a sheet of steel of 0.5 to 1 millimetre in gauge. A sheet of fire rated cement fibre board of 3 to 5 millimetre gauge. A sheet of plywood of 12 to 20 millimetre thickness. Fold down wheels and handles for reduced storage and fitment to side of firetender unit. Prop stands to hold shield at 45 degree angle to the ground when deployed. A port hole in the centre with hose nozzle mount that can maintain water flow without operators present.. The purpose of this invention is to allow operators to approach burning vehicles and other sites where the risk of explosion and debris harming operators is high or unknown with much greater safety than standard fire kit provide.
Condolences to his family and Brothers in Firefighting… Really a senseless loss .. Hopefully … very Hopefully .. further tragedies like this will be prevented by better safer practices and educating anyone who works around these pieces of equipment…
Here in Western Australia, the mining industry is well aware of the dangers of machinery fires that have involved tyres. Hence there is always an exclusion zone around them, and the asset is lost. Dying on the job is not heroic, its avoidable and fire departments in the US should maybe consider lives of responders before saving lost assets.
There is an easy solution to this. Required fusible plugs or two on this type of tire rim like there are on some compress gas cylinders. Testing would be required first to ensure that dirt or mud does not affect the melting point. The criteria could be a volume (size) and pressure limit of filling such a tire before needing a fusible plug. Thus, your typical car tire would not need a fusible plug. If that doesn't work, maybe a rupture disk at a certain pressure. I think the key here was it was unknow how long the tire was being heated before the arrival of the fire department. Also in question is the effectiveness of water streams in cooling tires during a fire. The mining company applied a reported 3000 gals, which was not were it was needed as far as the tire and how long was it between the time they ran out of water and the arrival of the fire department. The thing is, no arriving engine is going to know the delay factor to their arrival.
I can imagine that most firefighters can imagine those types of tires exploding. I'm also pretty sure officers in law enforcement can imagine them exploding like that. It's not like electric cars. Tires have been around for a long time.
Fighting that fire was unnecessary. The mine workers and mine operators KNEW the hazards more than the firefighters. This was a sad and devastating event, for fighting a fire in the middle of desert among sand.
When I was 12 or 13 I was filling my bicycle tire it when it popped, the blast was intense and shocking. I have had immense respect for pressurized vessels since.
Such a loss. These tires are dangerous at all times. OSHA requires these tires to be filled remotely in a cage to prevent injury should it fail. These large tires are very difficult to extinguish once a fire is fully established, they retain heat for hours due to their weight. When isolated it's usually best to fight it from a distance or let it burn out.
I have a feeling that the original cause of the fire was a huge lithium battery that it had. From the pictures I saw this loader is a hybrid. Prayers to the family and friends.🙏
I work on tires this size and pressure we used is 145 psi. Multiple mechanics have been kill because of explosions during removal.
Terrible loss , R.I.P Andrew . Thought with his family .
I almost lost my arm, when a hot trailer tire I was inspecting blew a split second after I took my hand away from feeling the temperature. It wasn't that hot, but the tread area started "Squirming" and "twisting", indicating to me, separation was eminent. It blew a 1 ft by 2 ft piece of hardwood trailer decking out of the sound deck of my 48 ft flatbed trailer, and almost took my arm. My only injuries were temporary as my ears shut down for 3 hrs. I also have 2 friends die while servicing truck tires. One while welding a rim crack, and one inflating a brand new tire flat on the ground. It launched him through the metal roof of a 4 story tire warehouse. Tire cages save lives, remote fill chucks with locking chuck ends save too. Even just bringing the tire up to correct pressure for maintenance, it's a good practice to NOT stand in front of or lean on the tires as you inflate. And watch for strange tire movements while doing it. Have a plan to get clear, and not trapped between the tire and another immovable object.( A truck your parked next to, a wall ect). RIP Mike Height and Mr Kibbe.
I could not have said it better. My dad twice had one tire blow and took out the rear tires on a semi. I was on a bus that had a tire blow. Sounded like a shot gun and blew dust in the cab. These things are not to mess with.
Lengthen my tire inflation hose to six feet . Never fill 22.5 tires over 5 lbs. without a tire cage ! Truck tires are air tank bombs !
We have a quarry in our district and I've known about this for years. These tires actually DO detonate. They should be treated just like you'd treat the end of a propane tank. Stay 45 degrees from the side of the tire, and as far back as you can. Use a 2 1/2" line minimum, a ground monitor is preferred. Also use a TIC to monitor temperatures. Any large truck tire, construction or ag equipment tire can do this so treat them accordingly. The larger tires on mine equipment can reach up to 1,000 psi before they explode. Tires can enter a chemical decomposition called pyrolysis, which you can't stop. Even if the valve is removed from a tire, it can still build up pressure faster than it can be vented.
Pyrolysis can also occur from overheated brakes, contact with electric lines, or welding on the rim with the tire on. Any tire that has been exposed to high heat needs to be isolated for at least 24 hours. It makes me wince when I see guys just run right up to semi's on fire, knowing even one of those tires can seriously injure or kill you.
Thanks. I wish more people were seeing this. Should be posted in every business that sells tires. All tires. And every construction site break room. Most dangerous occupations have a safety director of some kind. They should all be teaching it. Also, most jobs I’ve been on, heavy equipment did not get proper maintenance. If it started up in the morning, it was good. I grew up on a farm, so by the time I went out into the world I knew “farmer physics”, from accidents on the farm. Some people died. Like most farms, we had a full shop, doing the majority of repairs ourselves. The only work I remember being hired out was tires, and we had tire mounting equipment but my Grandfather drew a line at large tires and paid for it, which was unusual, and I was today years old when I fully understood why. I knew they were dangerous, but this is incredible force, all tunneled into a kill zone by the equipment and fender wells, focused at ground level. Plus, any debris or materials between the blast and you would be a problem. Great contribution, thanks again for taking the time!
Thanks for the warning. Sorry for the loss of a colleague.
As a chemist, pv = nRT was a most useful equation. Chief
As a LACo Firemen, I appreciate the respect you showed in this video. Andrew is a great firemen, and this could have happened to any of us. This job is incredibly dangerous and we all must learn from those who came before us. Honor him and get out there to save lives!
I agree brother.. I was also an LACFD worked out of 111s and camp 9. Rip to Andrew and wish the best for his family.
heavy equipment tires are constructed differently then automotive tires. on the semi I drive, the steer tires have 110 psi and the drives have 95 psi! those front loaders operate at double or triple that. they also use multiple piece rims. the DOT outlawed them on semi trucks back in the late 80's early 90's.
There's still trucks out there with multiple piece rims. I have an Army truck with split ring rims.
@@ffjsb Great point 🏴🇬🇧👍👍😎😎🍀🍀
If you don't work on split rims don't mess you up
Obviously you are a truck driver and not a heavy equipment operator. Tires on a 988B loader are only around 90 psi.
@Oldschoolrules123 snark much
It is internationally recognized amongst the mining community that tyre fires are deadly and most mines forbid the fighting of such fires. Sad and unnecessary loss of life.
In the UK commercial tyres when fitted are inflated in a cage & have been for over 40 years. Also on axles with twin tyres the split rings have to Face each other. So in a catastrophic failure it's contained ( safer) as a number of life's were lost.
R.I.P Andrew
As an air force firefighter in the 1980, we were trained to approach at a 45 degree angle to hot brakes on aircraft. Not sure if or how many lives were saved but they didn't make that SOP up without some hard lessons.
I need to learn more about this directive on semi-truck fires. I think the risk vs cargo is an important factor. Tires do not blow up everyday, but unchecked hazardous cargo burning might blow-up on a downtown street. I am not saying the directive is wrong, I just need to learn more about it and how to apply it to over the road semi-trucks.
I worked for a tyre company, years ago. I remember the lads showing me a photo of the imprint of someone who passed away, when a tyre he was inflating exploded...I've never forgotten that awful image 😢 R.I.P. Andrew
Reminds me of an accident at a service station some years ago, not fire related. An individual had just replaced a tyre on a 4wd split rim unit. They were pumping it up at a local service station when the locking ring came off. The result was instant death. We handle things that are everyday items with little respect as the failures are rare and they happen "to the other guy". Sad that this happened but thank you for this video as it reminds all of us how fragile life really is.
Very well said🥰I’m so sorry for the loss😢
R.I.P.
As an authorized pressure vessel, process piping inspector, and former certified auto mechanic, pressure of any kind deserves attention and respect. Particularly, items that do not have overpressure protection. Watch a video of a "harmless" basketball exploding, and you will become a believer.
A tire on one of our tractor trailers killed a motorcycle rider that was next to it on the highway. This happened about a dozen years ago. Never stay next to a truck on the highway. A lot of large loader, crane, and other equipment use nitrogen instead of air in the tires. We had nitrogen fill stations in all our quarries and pits.
Nitrogen won't stop pyrolysis, it can happen in an oxygen deprived atmosphere.
I remember this incident as reported by the mainstream media. I am not a FF, or in anyway related to the tire or trucking industry, but I was amazed that this man died from a tire explosion. In the original story, the media just reported that he died for tire explosion with no details. I didn't realize how dangerous these commercial tires were until this video and reading the comments. RIP sir.
The loss of life is always heart breaking. My condolences the firefighter’s family
I was born in 1957 and I clearly remember as a young child, a photo in a New York City newspaper, probably the Times or Daily News, that showed the devastation caused by a tire explosion. I have no idea how old I was, this probably happened in the 1960's, but the shocking photo burned itself into my memory as if I had the photo here today. The poor photographer must have come to the scene immediately afterwards. On the ground was an adult, possibly the father, and a child, both in fetal positions, naked, their cloths completely torn away. Standing over the bodies was the wife and mother, her expression of total horror, arms raised with hands about her face as she screamed.
I have no idea when I last thought about this news paper photo, but after 50 to 60 years, this detail all came flooding back, triggered from watching this video. I never read the accompanying article, though I must have read enough to understand that this was a tire explosion, and my memory has repeatedly proven to preserve accurate information over huge lengths of time. Even to this day, I am still very cautious about tires and their associated risks and threats.
My heart goes out to the family.
Exploding tires are scary and a tire this massive is a bomb!
So sorry to hear what happened. My sincerest condolences to his colleagues, friends and family.
One of the things we had drummed into us when i was working in mining was that if a tyre was on fire or directly affected by fire the best thing to do is get out of there and prevent anyone else from entering untill it either exsplodes or the pressure can be release in a "controled" way.
Only last week I was blowing up a wheel barrow tyre, and as I bent down to remove the pump the tyre exploded. Was so loud gave me a bit of a shock and I was very lucky that nothing hit my face. I can imagine that scaled up to the size of a tyre on a big earth mover.
When I heard “One year away from retirement”, I couldn’t hold back the tears…. A firefighter’s death in the line of duty is always heartbreaking. May he RIP.
Thanks for the information. I wouldn't have imagined how much risk a tire fire could be. Your videos could save lives. Sorry to hear about Andrew.
Very sad. I worked for a large government fleet services department for 37 years. We had a guy killed when a regular pickup truck tire exploded. He was inflating the tire after mounting it. He was supposed to be doing that from a distance, but for some reason was standing right next to it when it over inflated and exploded. Don't underestimate the danger of an inflated tire. The effect of too much pressure in a tire is very similar to a pipe bomb.
May we honour his memory by keeping each other safe
I was coming home from a friends house when i saw the ladders and trucks and rigs on the overpasses and I knew. Later on i saw the procession several miles in front of me. Made me very sad for the rest of the drive home
Frightening. I am so sorry for this loss and hope Andrew's family and friends are able to come to terms with this.
If there was nothing around but a sand pit why didnt they just let it burn out after the first tire blew? Tragic...
Seems like to me you should take this to the NTSB and ask them to mandate a redesign of the tire/wheel assembly. Replacing the tire stem with a combined filler pressure relief device.
Save us daddy Government.🙄
The Road Administration will jist refuse to follow the NTSB recommendations (just like the FAA keeps ignoring the NTSB's recommendations)
Crazy people will immediately call
'goverment overreach !!!'
And all people right on the political spectrum will immediately call it 'communism'
So the only thing that will happen are
'thoughts and prayers' an more people will die just as usual in 'Murica
I kinda cringed when you said “detonated” but that’s just what it is.
I’m sorry for the loss of your co-worker, but grateful that you’re bringing awareness to an overlooked deadly hazard.
Thenks for info
When the rear out side tire on my semi blew I was told I was lucky to be alive. I have pieces of my safety glasses embedded in one eye, my face was partly torn off, fractured skull, and a brain injury. To this day I can not eat solid food, I am having constant pain in my teeth and a loss of memory, sciatica from being thrown backwards. Now I am totally unemployable, so don't mess around with tire safety.
That's so sad man. I'm glad you're alive, but sorry it took so much away from you. I work in a tire shop, that's scary.
RIP HERO ., Thoughts and prayers with the families and co workers involved .
my first thought was the tire exploding, but no one said the tire exploding could have caused it. they all kept saying its under investigation. to me, it was the only obvious conclusion. the firefighters backed away and didnt retrieve their fallen brother until way later. they must have known he died since they werent helping him or transporting him. they didnt risk thier lives to move him so they knew he died (obvious trauma?). this video is the first time since that i have seen someone talk about it.
I stay far away from tires this size and pressure. Don’t drive next to it either.
R.I.P Andrew 😪
RIP brother Andrew🚒
Question, why did they fight the fire the way it did? It's a quarry... There's not much flammable crap for hundreds of feet
I never realized that large tires were a greater threat than the fire itself. My respect for firefighters just went a notch higher. So many hazards in that line of work.
A friend of mine was removing semi truck tire from the axle. It blew right in his hands. His fingers were mangled pretty badly, had hands in cast and bandages for well over a year.
I heard about it shortly after it happened. I was wondering what the explosion was from.
So sad, this world is a dangerous place, for all of us. I am thankful for all of the training that helps keep our people safer, especially those that choose careers such as fire fighters. My heart goes out to andrew and his family.
Sorry for the loss to the profession. Always sad one there is a loss of one who serves and protects.
Im surprised a tire with this much energy doesn’t incorporate some sort of relief valve inside the rim or elsewhere, similar to other pressure vessels. Such a sad loss
I remember split rim tires and them popping off but we had tire cages mandatory use.
Excellent video, lots of information.
Potentially lethal tire explosions are more common than you might imagine. Many just blow out the sidewall for no obvious reason when no one is around. Federal Highway Administration back in the 90's had a be on the lookout for a potentially failing tire. The event as described by survivors were there was sound of a zipper being unzipped then an explosion with rubber from the tire. Eventually it was found the steel belts were rusting and especially on retreads. The tires no longer had the strength in the sidewall and would just give out. Airplane tires for large jets were and probably still are limited to 10 retreads before disposal. Don't know about truck tires other than no retreads on the steer position.
Nope. Pressure does NOT rise too much. We live not at 0 degrees but at 273K, so even if tyre air heated to +300C the pressure will rise just twice, and 4 times at +900C which is impossible, tyre rubber will burn thru or decompose long before this. The problem is not in pressure but in vast energy stored in compressed gas (air in this case). As soon as tyre bursts (when rubber burns to the point when it can not keep the pressure) all this energy liberates almost instantly, directly in mechanical form, very effective to accelerate debris and send it to fly. Its the reason why vessels, pipes and so on never pressure tested with gas, only with liquids - leaks and cracks do not cause explosion in this case, as liquid can not expand without instant pressure loss. And why big tyre shops has special precautions like protection chambers from rebars, barriers and equipment with controls far away from where tyre is.
Worse case is only steam vessel burst, where energy stored not only as compressed gas (steam) but as overheated water or other liquid (fuel in sealed tank), this energy instantly converts to gas pressure and continues to feed expansion process.
Your math is wrong. Kelvin temperature is irrelevant. The pressure rises in proportion to delta-T, not absolute temperature and its gauge pressure, not absolute. June in California desert is easily 33°C. Raise the temperature to 330°C and the pressure increases from 145psi (10bar) to 1450psi (100bar) and that is what blows it up. The applicable equation is Boyle’s law: P1V1/T1=P2V2/T2, double the temperature and the pressure will double in constant volume.
@@QwazyWabbit Physics does not make errors. T in the Boyles formula is absolute temperature, Kelvin. So if you double the temperature, from 300K to 600K, - the pressure doubles, not 10 folds. As simple illustration - what happens, by your theory, if we heat tyre from 1C to 30C (which is absolutely normal range for tyre when descending from snowy 2km high mountains to sea coast, 100km drive and thats it)? The pressure rises 30fold?
The pressure can rise more but only if it not an ideal gas, not subject to Boyle law but something else happens - evaporation of liquid, thermal decomposition of rubber and so on, changing substance properties. For example if you take cylinder of CO2 (liquid under 70 atm pressure and 20C) and heat it up to the same 300C it explodes, as pressure rises way more than twice, instead of liquid/gas mix it will be supercritical gas. The same cylinder with O2 or N2 will more or less follow Boyle.
Some of these side tire shops have no idea about this. I went to one to get a spare tire replaced, I didn’t think anything of it but the next day I just thought to take it out of my trunk and check the tire pressure on it. It was over 100 psi. I hurried and let the air out to drop down to 33 psi. I guess you don’t need any safety training to open a new & used tire shop in Maryland.
I would have assumed that the hazards of large tires was already well understood by firefighters but it is still a tragic loss
What a terrible loss of life and talent...R.I.P. Andrew Pontius, God has prepared a place for you.
Thanks for the info, so though it is, brother....
Big tires can be dangerous. Big tires with fire, that's a bomb! I don't expect it took this long into safety standards.
Also a good reminder not to weld on a rim if the tire is still inflated.
Prayers for Andrew's family ✝️🇺🇸
So very sad !
probably not practical but i saw somewhere that airports sometimes hav a bot that drills the tire from a safe distance
This is only a tire. Imagine the destruction from a Hydrogen powered Vehicle, where they are compressed at 7k-10k psi!
So regulations demanding temperature controlled over pressure valves could be a good idea?
Forklift tires recently also have killed in several incidence also.
RIP and condolences.
This is a hazard many have fallen foul of over the years unfortunately.
Has happened to more then one welder doing repairs on cracked rims on industrial equipment like this.
I'm so sorry to hear about Andrews tragic death. RIP 😢
Most of these heavy equipment tires are filled with calcium chloride and mixing it with water results in a high heat exothermic reaction. I am surprised the fire department was not aware of this potential danger? As a veteran equipment operator we are grilled on the danger all the time!
So sad for his friends, family, and colleagues.
RIP, Andrew, firemen are true hero's, my condolences to family and friends.
Large tires are very dangerous to nearby personnel when they blow up - NASA even built a special robot called TAV to drill holes into damaged space shuttle tires to make them blow up in controlled way without risking injury to people.
Ordinary public just are not aware how dangerous are these huge tires. DO NOT loiter around big rigs on a highway. They have enough pressure to flip over a car!
OMG. RIP. Poor Guy. those tires definitely can kill if it explodes. Even a small car one can wreck havoc
It's important information for us all. Trucks are everywhere, and we never know when we may encounter a traffic accident resulting in a fire. Stay back, stay alive!
RIP to a hero, condolences to his family and friends.
A tragic loss, and so close to his retirement. RIP Andrew 😪💐
Thanks 👍
Well, I have seen one where a "tech" was welding on one of these wheels, and the tire split in an X on the top, and one of the triangle shaped flaps folded around the side and down, and took him off at the waist. And I've seen 3 piece split rims come apart catastrophically as well. I have personally had 4 brand new semi tires fail during inflation over the years. Sidewall gave out. They call it a zipper.
To Andrews family i wish you well for the future 💗💗💗.
Andrew god speed young man and we will see you when we get there.
I'm a semi owner. I get so nervous when another vehicle just hangs out next to any of my wheels. My steer tires are 120 psi. while the rest are 110 psi. I hate to think what could happen if I were to blow a tire with a car just feet away from it. And I would be the one getting sued.
RIP Andrew Pontius, and may God ease the pain of his family. Exploding tires are no joke, I worked for a man who was seriously injured when one of the tires on his boat trailer burst the rim. Big tires can be dangerous!
We all face dangers daily of one sort or another, but do we rush to the scene like a First Responder does?
My sincere condolences to his immediate family and his brothers / sisters in the firefighting community.
There's nothing worse then watching a great channel like yours and seeing a stinking e-bike ad entry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALWAYS an RIP to, our 1st responders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Watch out for farm tractor/trailer & Combine tyres too! Stay safe!
Invention.
Portable firewall / blast shield.
A barrier large enough for two equiped operators to shield behind while approaching a fire.
The design is similar to a folding hand furniture truck in construction and operation.
It consists of a sheet of steel of 0.5 to 1 millimetre in gauge. A sheet of fire rated cement fibre board of 3 to 5 millimetre gauge. A sheet of plywood of 12 to 20 millimetre thickness.
Fold down wheels and handles for reduced storage and fitment to side of firetender unit.
Prop stands to hold shield at 45 degree angle to the ground when deployed.
A port hole in the centre with hose nozzle mount that can maintain water flow without operators present..
The purpose of this invention is to allow operators to approach burning vehicles and other sites where the risk of explosion and debris harming operators is high or unknown with much greater safety than standard fire kit provide.
Condolences to his family and Brothers in Firefighting… Really a senseless loss .. Hopefully … very Hopefully .. further tragedies like this will be prevented by better safer practices and educating anyone who works around these pieces of equipment…
The tires are the bigest danger in a fire i have seen them send the rim 500 yards when thay go
Here in Western Australia, the mining industry is well aware of the dangers of machinery fires that have involved tyres. Hence there is always an exclusion zone around them, and the asset is lost. Dying on the job is not heroic, its avoidable and fire departments in the US should maybe consider lives of responders before saving lost assets.
Thank you Andrew
There is an easy solution to this. Required fusible plugs or two on this type of tire rim like there are on some compress gas cylinders. Testing would be required first to ensure that dirt or mud does not affect the melting point. The criteria could be a volume (size) and pressure limit of filling such a tire before needing a fusible plug. Thus, your typical car tire would not need a fusible plug. If that doesn't work, maybe a rupture disk at a certain pressure.
I think the key here was it was unknow how long the tire was being heated before the arrival of the fire department. Also in question is the effectiveness of water streams in cooling tires during a fire. The mining company applied a reported 3000 gals, which was not were it was needed as far as the tire and how long was it between the time they ran out of water and the arrival of the fire department. The thing is, no arriving engine is going to know the delay factor to their arrival.
When they go into pyrolysis, the can build up pressure faster than it can be released.
I can imagine that most firefighters can imagine those types of tires exploding. I'm also pretty sure officers in law enforcement can imagine them exploding like that. It's not like electric cars. Tires have been around for a long time.
Fighting that fire was unnecessary. The mine workers and mine operators KNEW the hazards more than the firefighters. This was a sad and devastating event, for fighting a fire in the middle of desert among sand.
Also in your ideal equation, n as it refers to oxygen is at a much higher partial pressure that can cause rapid combustion of the inside of the tire.
Aircraft tyres are inflated to 240psi. First inflation is done inside a steel cage
When I was 12 or 13 I was filling my bicycle tire it when it popped, the blast was intense and shocking. I have had immense respect for pressurized vessels since.
Dang, i hate to hear that.
some else to go along with this is the hydraulic system.. is very dangerous in a fire.. they can have very violent explosion..
The Firefighters job is to protect life and property, and, sadly, a brave Firefighter gave his life in the line of duty. R.I.P. Andrew.
😢RIP Andrew
R.I.P Brother.
Such a loss. These tires are dangerous at all times. OSHA requires these tires to be filled remotely in a cage to prevent injury should it fail. These large tires are very difficult to extinguish once a fire is fully established, they retain heat for hours due to their weight. When isolated it's usually best to fight it from a distance or let it burn out.
What are your thoughts on charging and storing e-bicycles and their batteries inside your home? Even if they are Japanese, Korean, or German brands.
I have a feeling that the original cause of the fire was a huge lithium battery that it had.
From the pictures I saw this loader is a hybrid.
Prayers to the family and friends.🙏