smoking is bad

Smoking in a Mercedes Sprinter carrying gasoline powered equipment is REALLY bad. . . .

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MEN FLEE BURNING VAN ON A23 TWO men are recovering from serious burns after their van caught fire on the A23 near Albourne. Police believe one of the men lit a cigarette, which ignited petrol vapours in the vehicle and set it alight. The men managed to drive their Mercedes Sprinter into a ditch and jumped out, rolling on the grass to extinguish the flames. The incident happened just before 4pm yesterday on the north-bound carriageway and caused long tail-backs in both directions. The van, belonging to a firm in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, had been carrying industrial equipment including four leaf blowers containing petrol. The men told police they had smelt strong petrol fumes before the fire started. Fire fighters from Hurstpierpoint led by Edward Bunn had just dealt with a minor lorry fire in Albourne and arrived on the scene within two and a half minutes. Paramedics in a passing ambulance saw the blaze were already attending to the two men when fire-fighters arrived. Mr Bunn said: "They were lucky to survive the initial explosion and the impact of the crash. They had a soft crash and were able to walk out but if they had hit a tree or a sign they would not have survived." The northbound carriageway was closed for more than three hours while fire crews from East Sussex, Hurstpierpoint and Keymer dealt with the blaze using additional water from a water carrier sent down from Burgess Hill. The two men were taken to a specialist burns unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead where their burns, although serious, are not thought to be life-threatening.

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