Woman's dangerous Glen 20 mistake: 'Never seen anything like it'
The Queensland resident returned home to find a perfectly round hole in her roof.
An elderly woman got the shock of her life when she returned to her Queensland home to discover a perfectly round hole in the ceiling of her kitchen.
Her stove top had also been blown to pieces in the few hours she'd been gone, leaving her shocked and confused about what had caused it. It was only after the woman, aged in her 70s, attempted the clean the mess and began looking for her can of Glen 20 antibacterial spray that she realised it was missing.
When a neighbour came over to inquire about a "deafening bang" they heard, the pair figured out what had happened — the can had been left next to the stovetop and exploded with the heat. It's believed the woman accidentally turned the stove on while attempting to preheat the oven before leaving the property.
"It shot straight up like a rocket," Jake Whalan, director of DYAD Constructions told Yahoo News Australia.
Aerosol can shot 'through the ceiling and roof tiles'
Jake, who fixes electronics and air conditioners, was called to the Redcliff address, just north of Brisbane, to assess the aftermath, admitting he's "never seen anything like it before".
"[The can] went through the roof. It went right through the ceiling and through the roof tiles," he explained. The woman and her neighbour "never found the can," he added.
Thankfully, the woman wasn't home when the explosion occurred about 12 months ago, with details being shared on Facebook this week.
"It definitely could have set the house on fire. If the stove had ignited the gas, it could definitely have been a big fireball for sure," Jake told Yahoo News. "I've seen plenty of things. That's the first time I've seen that one."
Warning over aerosols cans
Superintendent Adam Dewberry from NSW Fire and Rescue said aerosol cans are generally pretty safe, but they can explode if exposed to heat.
"They are probably in every household with many of them consisting of flammable liquid which turns to a readily ignited vapour when expelled," he told Yahoo News Australia.
"If an aerosol is heated, the contents expand — this can cause over pressurisation increasing the chance of the container failing to release the contents.
"If there is an ignition source in the vicinity it can ignite the vapour being released, causing a flash fire or explosion. It is not uncommon during the passage of fire for firefighters to experience aerosols cooking off (exploding)."
NSW Fire and Rescue advise people to call Triple-0 for any fire or suspected fires. "Even if they think they have put it out," Superintendent Dewberry said.
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