To clearly show that the Meadows Carpet Fire wasn’t a gasoline fire, it is important to understand that different fuels burn with vastly different characteristics. We want to describe the differences between gasoline fires and alcohol fires—and show you those differences below—so that you can see that the Meadows Carpet Fire wasn’t a gasoline fire (as alleged by the fire investigators).

Alcohol Fires

The Meadows Carpet Fire burned like an alcohol fire, which is drastically different from a gasoline fire.

Alcohol burns mildly and safely enough to be used indoors or outdoors for cooking, either as a cooking ingredient or as a heat source in catered food (e.g., Sterno), burning cleanly without smoke, producing only CO₂ (carbon dioxide) and water as the consequent fumes. Alcohol burns with a colorless, non-luminescent (essentially invisible) flame until other substances are incinerated with it and only then will start to produce a visible flame, soot and ash.

Note that there are several types of alcohol, ending in ‘ol’ (e.g., methanol, ethanol). Alcohols can be found in many common household items, including cleaners, hand sanitizers, liquor, cooking alcohol and isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Such items would likely be found in many of the apartments at the Meadows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_S2dgGJGnI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZEEuCHdWFA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B6yqrtcA7M

Invisible alcohol fire burns racecar pit crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku7TdLeEGsQ

Static-ignited hand sanitizer burns girl at Portland hospital – https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2013/02/portland_hospital_fire_investi.html:

Gasoline Fires

Fire investigators allege that the Meadows Carpet Fire was a gasoline fire. Below are videos of real gasoline fires, for you to contrast to the mild Meadows fire. Gasoline fires are violent, explosive, uncontrollable, scorching, formidable and terrifying! They are monstrous menaces for fire fighters to fight!

MythBusters – big boom, big fire!

Extinguishing a gasoline fire is difficult!

In comparison, the Meadows Carpet Fire was OUT (according to investigator reports) before fire fighters even arrived! All physical sources of the Meadows Fire—the police photos, personal photos and surveillance footage—and the Meadows Fire story by Marcos Ortiz on ABC 4 News (on our main page), show that the Meadows Fire had none of those attributes consistent with a gasoline fire! The forensic report did not indicate that gasoline was involved in the fire. Marcos Ortiz: “Upstairs, in a hallway, one sees the flames. Tenants don’t appear panicked as they leave the area.” None of the tenants exiting that affected hallway were traumatized or the least bit harmed.

Gasoline burns with vastly more heat than does alcohol and is therefore much more prone to causing catastrophic damage to buildings. With gasoline’s higher heat, the air expands much more violently, causing an explosion—gasoline is specifically designed to be explosive so as to exert instantaneous pressure to force a piston down quickly within a motor’s cylinder. In addition to being explosive, gasoline fire is unsafe both indoors and outdoors, having dangerous CO (carbon monoxide) and formaldehyde (etc.) as combustion byproducts, and should only be used in engines designed for gasoline and for no other purpose, and certainly never for starting fires.

Examples of actual gasoline fires

A West Valley City (Utah) Arson

Here’s a local example of an actual gasoline arson fire from a drink bottle, a Molotov cocktail. Note that gasoline is the most easily-accessible accelerant and is the most common fuel used in Molotov cocktails.

West Valley City arson – more links: https://www.ksl.com/article/46712274/saturday-fire-at-west-valley-city-apartments-was-arson-officials-say
https://www.ksl.com/article/46715201/man-charged-with-setting-apartments-ablaze-after-girlfriend-broke-up-with-him
https://www.ksl.com/article/46712558/man-set-apartments-ablaze-after-girlfriend-broke-up-with-him-police-say

Fire Edu Videos

Alcohol Fires

Gasoline Fires

Examples of actual gasoline fires

A West Valley City (Utah) Arson

More Gasoline Fire Videos