Darwin award, Navy style!

[MillCreek]

So let's steal some OBA canisters off the boat, knock off the fittings and huff off of them to get high, and then throw the canisters into a fire to make them explode. What could possibly go wrong?

Another news story said that 'alcohol was involved'.

I wonder if there will be an old-fashioned keelhauling presided over by the CO, XO and COB of the boat.



Saturday, July 17, 2010 - Page updated at 01:31 AM
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2 sailors hurt after oxygen explosion at a home near Port Orchard
By Nick Perry
Seattle Times staff reporter
Two Navy sailors were in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center on Friday night after an explosion involving military equipment that the men may have taken from a submarine without permission.

Deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, said both men suffered serious burns to their faces, arms and airways after the explosion at a private home near Port Orchard. A number of people were at the address when authorities arrived.

The men, both active duty and assigned to a submarine at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, had apparently taken Oxygen Breathing Apparatus equipment, Wilson said.

The equipment is similar to the masks and canisters used by firefighters, only with smaller breathing canisters that are attached to the front of the body. They are used by the Navy when fighting fires or when sailors venture into areas filled with toxic gases.

Wilson said the men had apparently knocked off the tops of the canisters and were using them to "huff" or get high. The men were also apparently throwing the canisters onto an open fire in the yard in order to make them explode.

When authorities arrived, the injured men were treated immediately by medics from South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and airlifted separately to Harborview.

The incident caused streets in the area to be closed down as authorities tried to sort out what happened.

The Washington State Patrol and the interagency bomb squad arrived at the address to make sure there were no other explosives, Wilson said.

Wilson said detectives were trying to find out all the details, adding that witnesses at the address "are not the most reliable." He said the men could be facing some "pretty serious" charges given the circumstances.

[French G.]

For those of you that don't know, this is not just a compressed cylinder of oxygen or air. It is a handy little metal canister full of potassium superoxide that reacts with the moisture and CO2 in your breath to both generate oxygen and scrub CO2. The reaction is somewhat exothermic and generates oxygen which leads to all kinds of fun disposal problems. Those guys need to try again, sounds like they can still breed.

I spent lots of time in both OBAs and later Scott SCBA. I had my teams pretty slick at SCBA bottle change-out and on back re-charging. The sad fact is that you have your pre-charged bottles and you have whatever the ship can re-charge which requires a clean air source. Then you are SOL. The OBAs had issues like collapsing your bags, but if you nursed one you could get 1 hour of air out of a canister though we set the timer for 30 minutes. I always carried two spare canisters, one in each thigh pocket of my firefighting clothing. Change them out in the dak on a breath hold. The SCBA requires me to at a minimum bail out of the space. I can get a bottle changed on a held breath if the person changing the bottle knows what they are doing, but when you are out of air in that thing, you are truly out of air. Back to the OBA I preffered to manually start the canister by breaking the mask seal, inhaling outside air, exhaling into the apparatus. That leaves you with the sodium chlorate "candle" which is the usual starter. Good for 5 minutes of air if you collapse your bags or otherwise lose air.

Man, I miss my OBA. 

[280plus]

Been a while but I've used them (OBA) too. We were told oil would make them blow. I think we used to submerge them in water to deactivate them after use. Can't remember.

[French G.]

Been a while but I've used them (OBA) too. We were told oil would make them blow. I think we used to submerge them in water to deactivate them after use. Can't remember.

Water as in ocean good. Bucket of water bad. more exothermic reaction~ 

[myrockfight]

I'm missing the part where you huff "superoxide" to get some kind of "high". If the chemical is in the pre-O2 stage, does it do something to your brain that isn't obvious? All I can think of, without knowing the actual chemical's other-than-stated properties, is that it cuts the amount of oxygen to your brain when you are exposed to it.

Is that what they were going for? O2 deprivation to get "high"? (Because they really didn't get enough done in that department).

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i think its the other way  you breath pure o2 and it gets you drunk

[BobR]

but if you nursed one you could get 1 hour of air out of a canister though we set the timer for 30 minutes. I always carried two spare canisters,

Back when we used to set the timer for 45 minutes which was supposed to give us 15 minutes to egress and change canisters. During the fighting of the Forrestal fire at Pier 12 in Norfolk in 1972 we were barely getting 40-45 minutes of use out of the cannisters, We also had a lot of hoses blow. I was the nozzleman on a big hose (2" I think) cooling the top of hanger bay one when the nozzle blew off the hose and went across the hanger bay. There were a lot of changes in firefighting and PMS procedures after that fire.

As far as the two "geniuses" out of Kitsap, the last I heard they were "critical". In hospital talk critical means they are intubated. The news here reported they suffered burns to their arms, faces and airways.

bob

[taurusowner]

i think its the other way  you breath pure o2 and it gets you drunk

That's an interesting feeling.  I went to a bar in Virginia Beach about 4 years ago that offered pure O2.  It's odd that you can get like that from just breathing the same stuff your body needs to live.

[BobR]

The last oxygen bar I saw was at the top of Pike's Peak.....they should have been giving it away instead of trying to seel it! There were some people doing some serious huffing and puffing up there.

bob

[RaspberrySurprise]

That's an interesting feeling.  I went to a bar in Virginia Beach about 4 years ago that offered pure O2.  It's odd that you can get like that from just breathing the same stuff your body needs to live.

Yes you do need it to live but the ambient concentration is only about 21% which is what your body is used to and designed for. Five times that amount tends to burn things out just like running an engine on fuel that burns five times as hot would.

[Firethorn]

I should note that in the old space capsule days when they were going to go with nearly 100% oxygen, they were going to do it at a partial pressure such that you got the same amount of O2 by volume. 

IE 100% O2 at 1/5th the pressure.

[Brad Johnson]

Hyperoxygenation is a funky thing.  Muscle spasms, tingling in the skin and extremeties, etc.  Pretty trippy.  I ran into it inadvertantly a couple years ago.  I'll pass on doing it again.

Brad

[myrockfight]

Hyperoxygenation is a funky thing.  Muscle spasms, tingling in the skin and extremeties, etc.  Pretty trippy.  I ran into it inadvertantly a couple years ago.  I'll pass on doing it again.

Brad

OoooK. Well that clears that up. And I'll second on taking the pass. If you weren't already aware: Oxygen actually becomes toxic at depth to the CNS. The toxicity being a function of depth vs. percentage of O2 in what you're breathing. I guess I should have figured the same properties that contribute to the toxicity would get these guys going.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

if they significanly burned their lungs they are history  just a matter of time

[RoadKingLarry]

Wow. Non-quals, got to be. 
Now I've heard that if you took an OBA canister and popped the seal before you float tested it it would make bubbles for a long time.

This illustrates something I've said for years- Gross stupidity, when left to it's own devices, is ultimately self correcting.

[Jamie B]

Sadly, all of their medical expenses will be paid by the gov't, which is us.

[Jamisjockey]

2 sailors hurt after oxygen explosion

Actually, to attain the Darwin award, you have to clense yourself from the gene pool.  These two rocket scientists are only runner-ups.

Sadly, all of their medical expenses will be paid by the gov't, which is us.

The Military doesn't look too kindly upon this sort of behavior.....they will likely serve very lengthy prison sentences for it.

[MillCreek]

To keep the Navy theme, we should probably say that they were strikers for Darwin.

[French G.]

I'd give them a "Passed, not Advanced" then. Try again in 6 months guys, you'll make it.

[MechAg94]

I used to work in a plant that made industrial oxygen (a few hundred tons/day).  I don't think I ever heard the "o2 makes you high" thing.  I do remember hearing that breathing pure O2 a few minutes can get rid of a hang over.  Never tried it myself. 

At that plant you had to open a bleed valve or something to get pure O2.  Plus, O2 tends to impregnate your clothing for 30 minutes or more creating a fire risk.

[BobR]

Sadly, all of their medical expenses will be paid by the gov't, which is us. 

And don't forget, if there are any permanent injuries, there is a good chance they will get a VA disability for them and "we" will continue to pay them for the rest of their lives. 

bob
 

[taurusowner]

And don't forget, if there are any permanent injuries, there is a good chance they will get a VA disability for them and "we" will continue to pay them for the rest of their lives. 

bob
 

I believe there are UCMJ provisions for taking those privileges away.

[kgbsquirrel]

And don't forget, if there are any permanent injuries, there is a good chance they will get a VA disability for them and "we" will continue to pay them for the rest of their lives. 

bob
 

Servicemen don't get disability for negligent actions. There is a paraplegic in Norfolk who became that way due to drunk driving while active duty. He's completely on his own without VA support (I'm unsure whether or not he collects SS disability benefits though.)

[MillCreek]

^^^^ Interestingly enough, a couple of years ago when I was doing healthcare administration for a large medical clinic, I had to testify at Naval Station Everett regarding our treatment of a sailor.  They were doing a 'line-of-duty' hearing to see if his injuries, incurred in an off-duty motorcycle crash, would be covered by the government.  If I recall correctly, they were not, because he had been drinking and was not wearing the motorcycle safety gear mandated by his command.  I was talking to his division chief afterwards, and I got the distinct impression that the sailor was going to be separated for the good of the service, and the chief was glad to see him go. 

[seeker_two]

The Military doesn't look too kindly upon this sort of behavior.....they will likely serve very lengthy prison sentences for it.

From their injuries, it'll be a life sentence....