Three oil workers in Texas, USA were seriously injured last week when apparently a cellphone sparked a flash fire at an oil well site. A spokesman for the Gregg County Sheriff's Office said that the three workers were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Dallas.
Local reports said that their injuries are not life threatening.
Capt. Ken Hartley of the Gregg County Sheriff's Office said that investigators believe that a cellphone sparked the blaze, either by ringing or causing a static electricity discharge when the ringing phone was touched by one of the workers.
It is more common to use intrinsically safe cellphones in areas where flammable gasses are around as these phones are specifically modified to prevent static discharges."
Posted to the site on 12th April 2004
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/10990.php