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Pleasanton Man Suffers Bad Burns
Alleged drug lab explodes when gas floating in room ignites
Tri-Valley Herald | 06/04/2005

PLEASANTON — What may have seemed like a bright idea ended in a bang Thursday night after a Pleasanton man used a flammable gas in his apartment, allegedly to try to extract hashish from marijuana.
About 9:15 p.m., the Pleasanton Police Department received numerous telephone calls from startled residents reporting some kind of explosion at an apartment complex in the 3900 block of Stoneridge Drive, officials said.

Police and firefighters responded to the scene and arrived at an apartment where they found Ethan King, 21, with third- and fourth-degree burns on his arms and face, police said.

Pleasanton police Sgt. Craig Eicher said King had set up a small makeshift lab in his apartment to extract hashish from marijuana — a process powered by flammable gas.

"Basically, the gas was floating around this room and reached such a level that it ignited," Eicher said.

The lab had been set up in a small room near the apartment's water heater, Eicher said. The ignition source was the heater's pilot light.

The resulting explosion caused "moderate" damage to the room and serious injuries to King, who was knocked off his feet by the force of the blast, police said.

King was airlifted to the burn unit at the Santa Clara Medical Center.

"He's going to be in the hospital for a while," Eicher said. "We're sending a criminal complaint to the district attorney's office as opposed to filing charges because of the severity of his injuries."

A woman who was in the apartment with King was not injured, police said.

(LothNote: Please be careful out there!)

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NILation

I think this is a good warning to people. I've had trouble before with explosions and the such with extractions of chemicals and flammable matterials. One time I accidentally created a 5 foot fireball that I was standing in the middle of (until I turned around and threw myself under a blanket to ensure I wasn't on fire). Luckily I got out of that with only very slight burns on my lips and I somehow managed to keep my long hair. Another time a Pyrex pan (glass) blew up which could have possibly cut me badly if I had been standing next to it at the time which luckily I wasn't.

Always remember to be VERY VERY carefull when dealing with heat and/or flammable/explosive matterials.

Buzzby

I'm a firm believer in leaving dangerous lab procedures to properly equipped labs and chemists with some training. I almost burned my parents' house down doing "experiments" in the garage when I was 12. I was fortunate in having the garden hose turned on and at hand.

I much prefer marijuana in its natural form to any of the various concentrates. It tastes better, is easier on the throat (if smoked), and it's easier to control dosage.

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