Bomb squad investigating porta-potty explosion at N.J. construction site, formerly home of The Dump
A porta-potty explosion Sunday night in Gloucester County prompted scores of comments recalling the film “Christmas Vacation” as cops and the county fire marshal look for clues.
After receiving a steady flow of reports about an explosion, Washington Township police arrived shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday at an At Home store under construction on Route 42. Construction workers pointed officers to the porta-potties on site, formerly home to a location of the furniture store called The Dump.
One portable toilet was broken into several pieces, but an adjacent porta-potty was left intact.
Workers were expelled from the site as police, the county fire marshal and the Camden County Bomb Squad were called in to investigate. The scene was deemed safe just after 10 p.m.
No one was injured, police said in a Facebook post about the incident, which they believe to be criminal mischief. “No Christmas Vacation, Griswolds, Clark, Ellen, or Cousin Eddie comments please,” the post said.
The commenters did not listen, posting GIFs of Randy Quaid’s character dumping his RV’s sewage into the storm sewer.
There is a common misconception that porta-potties can explode due to methane gas buildup from waste, appearing to date back to a 2005 lawsuit. A man who worked at a methane plant in West Virginia lit a cigarette inside a porta-potty, igniting an explosion and leaving him severely disfigured. But that plant had a leaking methane line, he alleged.
In a March 2005 episode, the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters tested whether the portable toilet could produce enough gas to an explosion. They stuffed a crash dummy into a porta-potty and ignited a flame from a safe distance. But the air vents atop the portable toilet constipated their efforts.
The Mythbusters crew later sealed all the vents, lit a flare and then pumped the space with methane gas, which explodes at about minute 28 of this video.
Authorities have not said if any explosive devices were recovered from the scene.
The Washington Township Police are not turning a brown eye to this case. Anyone with information can reach their Detective Bureau.
https://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/2019/08/who-blew-up-this-porta-potty-bomb-squad-investigating-explosion.html?utm_content=nj_facebook_njcom&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=njcom_sf&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR26z_TcxoEQzJrObsn5P0xjQ7xvRRukAuZCeknxDHhqXAkuig4xycsuxeA
