The plaintiff, a 13-year-old boy, had been fishing in a nearby river on a cold spring day. He built a small fire near an old car in a field to keep warm.
As plaintiff was standing near the car there was a flash fire and explosion and plaintiff was struck with flames. His jacket and shirt burned and he sustained serious burn injuries. An examination of the car after the fire indicated that the gas tank had ruptured. Flames from the fire had ignited the gasoline vapors remaining in the tank of the car. The gas tank could have been designed so that such an explosion could not have occurred.[35]