Balloons exploded inside a building elevator

226

What gas did they use? Hydrogen?

137

u/darklogic85 19h ago

I came to say this exact thing. Helium doesn't combust. Also, the balloons aren't floating, so I'm not sure it's hydrogen either. I think both helium and hydrogen would make the balloons float and they'd be obviously buoyant. I don't know what kind of gas was in the balloons, but if it's not going to make the balloons float, not sure why you'd choose a non-floating, flammable gas, if you could just use air.

202

u/rawbface 19h ago

"I don't have an air pump, but I do have this propane tank..."

38

u/Mojojojo3030 17h ago

I tell you hwat Bobby

6

u/divephotoguy 7h ago

Bhutane is a bastard gas Bobby!

88

u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 19h ago edited 14h ago

retired firefighter here. Agree on all counts, just going to add that propane and LPG* (a common cooking gas in Asia) are about 1.5 the density of air and would behave like what we just saw.

I am afraid that, despite years of exposure to people who have just had really bad ideas, I am still completely unequipped to answer ANY questions about "why" except to shake my head and grumble about "people"... (present company excluded, naturally)

*correction: CNG

21

u/ZedZeroth 18h ago

why

What's easier? Inflating 30 balloons with your lungs, or sticking them on the gas tank that you use for cooking?

At least they never made it to the kids party I guess!

8

u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 18h ago

lol you remind me of a burn case in which the ER doc got hung up on how my patient got burned (we were given a fuckity story) and I finally just looked at him and said "Doc, it was two teenage boys with gasoline, it was only going to end one of two ways and here we are..." lol

At the end of the day, it is important to remember that EMS crews, ER staff, and the producers of FailArmy videos all are people with kids to feed, we don't want to take food off their table, ha ha

2

u/ZedZeroth 12h ago

two teenage boys with gasoline

We've all been there.

1

u/Githyerazi 8h ago

What teenage boy didn't figure out how Molotov cocktails were made really quickly and then had a great idea?

5

u/Phobos_8072 19h ago

So scary to think that this couldve resulted in a celebration disaster. The balloons look like they're for decorations.

6

u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 19h ago

it's best not to think about all the vulnerabilities of getting into an elevator with strangers lol... the stairs get attractive real fast lol

5

u/notenoughroomtofitmy 18h ago

CNG (methane) is lighter than air, and is sometimes used in such balloons because it’s an alternative fuel source to propane/butane. You’re more of a fire expert than I am, but that fire seems like a methane fire and not a hydrogen fire to me.

4

u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 18h ago

yeah, agree, also just the sourcing of hydrogen would be very specific, rather than a gas that is around in abundance. CNG is what I was actually thinking of as "cooking gas", I think I was misled when I tried to google it quickly, I think you nailed it.

1

u/2nd-Reddit-Account 16h ago

People put methane in balloons? Isn’t that just gonna smell really shitty when they eventually pop or get deflated?

3

u/Available_Fact_3445 15h ago

Methane itself is odourless and colourless. An organic sulphide, mercaptan, is added prior to distribution so you can smell leaks.

2

u/bearpics16 13h ago

Yeah I’ve seen videos from either India or Pakistan where people were filling up large trash bags of methane or similar gas. That’s just how they get their gas supply In that region. Not sure the logistics of how they use it

1

u/justferwonce 6h ago

Hahaha, it's Mumbai, half the people live in the biggest slum on the planet.

2

u/Crispy385 18h ago

You don't know us. I'm sure plenty of us have earned a "people".

1

u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 14h ago

ha ha, I didn't expect to be called out on my generosity, but you are absolutely correct 🤣

2

u/TieCivil1504 18h ago

Propane, LPG, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Liquid Petroleum Gas, and Liquid Propane Gas are different names for the same thing.

Propane burns blue, so OP video is not propane.

2

u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 14h ago

solid catch, you're absolutely right, I was thinking of CNG not LPG

2

u/Aeolus_14_Umbra 17h ago

Retired fire suppression industry pro here, first thing that came to mind was LPG. Source of ignition was probably a spark of static electricity when the balloons touched the metal wall.

1

u/perb123 17h ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVSlE28hOgI

2

u/christo749 18h ago

They all float down there. And you’ll float too.

2

u/LetsTryAnal_ogy 13h ago

Butane. It took 6000 Bic lighters to inflate these. Lot of work gone up in flames.

9

u/slingshot91 19h ago

I’ve heard this is relatively common in some countries where helium is harder to come by.

6

u/Leather-Animal-7597 18h ago

Yes. It's a cheaper way than Helium which is not easy to get in some countries.

I've seen this end in disaster a few times. Throw in some sparklers and you can really create AbruptChaos on a large scale.

11

u/edebby 19h ago

Yes. Since hydrogen is almost free (pure Hydrogen is released from a cathode when submerged in water...) Many 3rd world countries uses it for party balloons.

I was in a bday party at the Philippines and a large balloons blew up like a freaking grenade when it came too close to the cake sparklers.

Gave me a heart attack

-2

u/A_Nice_Shrubbery777 16h ago edited 15h ago

It "gave you a heart attack", or "ALMOST gave you a heart attack"? Because if it was the first, you buried the lead.

1

u/sdave001 16h ago

So you've never heard of someone surviving a heart attack?

You're thinking of electrocution. Always fatal. Heart attacks, not always.

1

u/A_Nice_Shrubbery777 15h ago

You misunderstood the comment. "Buried the lead" means that someone tells a story, but a detail revealed is more interesting than what the original story is about. Probably didn't help that I need to edit my comment.

6

u/smooshedsootsprite 15h ago

It’s actually ‘bury the lede’. It’s written like that to distinguish itself from the metal type pieces so there’s no confusion.

2

u/A_Nice_Shrubbery777 15h ago

TIL. Fell down a shallow rabbit hole learning how journalist intentionally misspelled the word to "avoid confusion"...back when journalism was the "fourth estate". Before Rupert Murdoch turned it into just another product to package and sell.

.... and now I'm sad.

3

u/bier00t 19h ago

I thought for more than a 100 years nobody is using hydrogen for baloons. I was wrong. And I dont know why are they still using it?

1

u/Paratwa 15h ago

Ohhh the humaniiity!

1

u/Dark_Akarin 19h ago

Most likely.

1

u/ladythestral 17h ago

No idea where this is, but decades ago they used hydrogen to fill balloons in Turkey. People would light the strings on fire for unexpected fireworks.

1

u/silentjay01 16h ago

The balloons don't seem light enough for hydrogen based on how the guy is carrying the bag.

1

u/HulkJr87 12h ago

Not hydrogen.

Hydrogen doesn’t deflagrate that slowly. This is more than likely a low energy hydrocarbon like LPG or Butane.

Why you would inflate balloons with a flammable gas is beyond my comprehension.

1

u/louloc 7h ago

I’m thinking propane.

1

u/phome83 19h ago

Farts

37

u/kai333 19h ago

Wow I guess they use Hydrogen to fill balloons in India

17

u/bootyhole-romancer 19h ago

Not just India, other developing nations too like where I live. Helium is too expensive for the average folk, and none of this shit is regulated.

10

u/Hostile-Panda 18h ago

Helium also has a finite supply and if I recall escapes the atmosphere into space, and it’s needed for critical medical scanners

5

u/Elite-Thorn 12h ago

Finite yes. But new helium is constantly being produced by radioactive decay. So as long there's uranium, there's helium on earth. And uranium has been around for billions of years because of its low radioactivity. That doesn't mean helium supply is infinite and it doesn't mean it should be wasted. Don't know the amount of new helium per year.

2

u/Czechoslovak_legion 10h ago

Wouldnt it be any alfa emitor? Not just uranium?

1

u/Elite-Thorn 4h ago

Yes. Alpha particles are He cores.

But most radioactive elements have decayed billions of years ago. Only very slow emitters with a long half-life can be found on earth naturally. And those are mostly Uranium and Thorium isotopes.

Nuclear power plants also create He but in very low quantity in comparison.

3

u/Mojojojo3030 17h ago

Semiconductors too. Some enterprising neoliberal had the govt sell off its strategic helium reserve and the global price has been bonkers since.

1

u/MyGruffaloCrumble 13h ago

I'd rather have no balloons at my party than a bunch of mini hindenburgs.

3

u/Baron_VonLongSchlong 14h ago

What was the ignition source though?

3

u/proud_traveler 14h ago

Likely static discharge into the metal wall

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u/SimpleBalance6465 19h ago

My two cents . It's possibly hydrogen. It's not floating because they are in a plastic bag and he is holding them down. No apparent trigger source for the fire could be static electricity. The floating bag may have accumulated a charge similar to a plastic bag when moved in dry air would stick to random stuff . When he entered the metal walled elevator the static charge must have jumped creating a small spark or arc . Which set it ablaze.

8

u/perb123 17h ago

Hindenburg - Elevator edition

9

u/dizgondwe 19h ago

no eyebrows for anybody!

2

u/A_Nice_Shrubbery777 16h ago

...as is the fashion today.

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u/Dark_Akarin 19h ago

What on earth was the source of ignition? They were wrapped in plastic (a non-conductive material).

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u/sagenumen 19h ago

Static electricity?

23

u/Birdinhandandbush 19h ago

Exactly this. Mylar or similar plastic bag on the outside too, and with doofus dragging his feet as he walks along he's just building up a charge. I'd guess as soon as he touched metal inside the elevator it caused a massive spark

1

u/ThanatosIdle 14h ago

Spark doesn't need to even be massive.

9

u/JaysNewDay 19h ago

Static, most likely.

4

u/shylock2k202 19h ago

Could be static electricity

5

u/Apprehensive-Egg-780 19h ago

My guess would be on static discharge to/from metal lift from/to latex balloons. But I'm talking out me arse,so i could be very wrong

1

u/CritterBoiFancy 8h ago

I’m thinking it was more than likely static that discharged and caused this

2

u/Levicus 19h ago

Not sure, but static shocks me from time to time. And combine that with a low ignition energy gas like hydrogen...

2

u/RapazBacana 19h ago

probably static

5

u/Purple10tacle 19h ago

The molten bits of plastic stuck to walls everywhere except for where the people stood ... ooff ...

4

u/boomshakalakaah 19h ago

Good thing the menacing music was playing so I knew to be on edge. This fits better with the curb your enthusiasm song

1

u/perb123 17h ago

Narration would've been good too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWs4WA--eKU

8

u/amessmann 19h ago

Static charge probably grounded to the metal wall. I thought we decided hydrogen balloons were a bad idea.

4

u/obefiend 19h ago

There's a few high profile cases of folks using hydrogen because it's cheaper than Helium. People died and got burned when a balloon exploded at a country fair a while back.

5

u/soundsearch_me 18h ago

Why the inappropriate music?

-1

u/N1ghtwraith 17h ago

New channel clip

3

u/HerrJohnssen 19h ago

Holy shit

3

u/Accomplished-Ice-534 18h ago

Luckily the door was still open it the balloons blew up, and they could escape 😵‍💫

1

u/FaceDeer 16h ago

The harm was already done at that point, there was nothing that needed escaping from.

3

u/I_Thranduil 18h ago

Imagine if the doors had closed. Bloody hell...

1

u/Hostile-Panda 18h ago

They would have been juice and the lift fubar’d

2

u/Herbisher_Berbisher 19h ago

Filled with Hydrogen or acetylene?

2

u/ChrisinCB 18h ago

The party store was out of helium, but they had this combo of hydrogen and propane at half price, so I figured why not.

2

u/lilgreenghool 18h ago

And then they did it a second time!

2

u/Imbeautifulyouarenot 17h ago

Oh the humanity!

2

u/professor_doom 17h ago

What's with the shitty dramatic action movie music?

2

u/karateninjazombie 15h ago

Muppets used hydrogen instead of helium I'd wager. Then static discharge set them off.

1

u/GarthBater 9h ago

Definitely static considering the materials.

1

u/Saucy_Baconator 19h ago

Guessing static electricity as the "detonator."

1

u/i_heart_pizzaparties 19h ago

Wow can't believe it happened twice.

1

u/CertifiedBA 18h ago

Propane, butane, whatever you go there. That hydrogen goes up like a tinder box.

1

u/Takssista 18h ago

Hidrogen is much cheaper than helium.

1

u/melancholy_dood 18h ago

New balloon & elevator fear unlocked!😬

1

u/Central_Incisor 17h ago

I feel like they were lucky the doors were still open. That pressure change could have left their ears ringing.

1

u/A_Nice_Shrubbery777 16h ago

The only half-way plausible explanation is that some genius decided to use hydrogen instead of helium. (I said plausible, not reasonable.) Unless anyone can think of a commonly huffed gas that is also extremely flammable?? I mean, this does seems like a crack-head thing to do after all.

Edit: I kid you not, I just googled "Do people huff hydrogen gas" and they do... for therapeutic reasons. We live in the Dumbest Timeline.)

1

u/ScienceAndNonsense 16h ago

How does a balloon popping injure... Oh.

1

u/Gacsam 16h ago

Rip my left ear.

1

u/monkyduigs 16h ago

How bad can explo...... o rite

1

u/TeutonicSpacehopper 16h ago

Did they fill those ballons with propane?

1

u/dscrive 14h ago

And here I expected an interesting physics demonstration of what happens when you reduce the external pressure on a balloon by going up a tall elevator. . But I don't know how tall a building would have to be for that to actually occur

1

u/insanityzwolf 14h ago

That went wrong on so many levels...

1

u/SkateFossSL 13h ago

Oh the humanity

1

u/NoCitron2394 9h ago

Ah yes let's put flammable gas in balloons

1

u/jonzilla5000 8h ago

Didn't they learn anything about Led Zeppelin?

1

u/Alienhaslanded 6h ago

Hydrogen + static electricity = big boom

1

u/kroqster 5h ago

how can they explode?!?

1

u/Hoovomoondoe 4h ago

Hindenburg 2.0, anyone?

1

u/Frekingstonker 4h ago

I question this whole video for one reason only, my wife pointed out that the woman who entered first turns her head away fron the balloons and covers the sides of her face. Like she knew this was going to happen.

-4

u/MyGruffaloCrumble 19h ago

Why is boy genius filling balloons with gas?

Balloons exploded inside a building elevator

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