It was another banner weather-day at C-18 and the small crew of twelve
(including 5 staff members and 7 students) were doing camp chores under sunny
skies and comfortable temperatures in the mid-50's.
Jim Anderson (Geobotanist extraordinaire) and Jeff(Torgy)Torgerson
(Weather-geek) were helping George Williams (Geological wonder) with the task
of refinishing the kitchen with a new formica countertop. We had a
gallon can of glue adhesive with which to adhere the formica to the
countertop. Jim, always using his noggin, decided to heat up the glue in the
propane oven. A couple of problems were later evident...1. he didn't tell
anyone what he was doing, 2. he failed to remove the lid of the glue
container, and 3. other goings on around the kitchen area caused him to forget
that the glue was in the oven.
The rest, you can probably guess, is history. After about 20 minutes of
heating and building up pressure within the sealed can, everyone on the
Camp-18 rock heard a deafening explosion from the kitchen. Those in the
kitchen were lucky enough to have not been directly in front of the oven when
the door blasted open with hot glue spewing everywhere. Torgy, wiping a bit
of scalding goo from his arm saw the inside of the oven on fire and ran
outside to turn off the gas at its source. George and Jim tended to the
numerous 'mini-fires' around the kitchen where glue gobs were smoldering away.
We then, after assessing the (luckily minor) medical aspects, began the task
of cleanup.
That afternoon we had a rare outdoor lunch on the C-18 rock while the kitchen
dried to the point of becoming 'chisel-able'. Later that evening,
during a typical Icefield seminar, The staff members presented a little talk
on Safety and the cautions concerning installing formica.
Number one in a series.
Torgememnon |
