http://www.nydailyne...ticle-1.1102428
Darwin Award contender: Man pumping gas plays with his lighter, nearly starts huge blaze (Video)
The unidentified driver starts flicking his lighter just before the gas he is pumping erupts in flames, sending him into a panic.
A dimwitted driver at an Australian gas station nearly lit up the whole place when he was playing with his lighter.
The unidentified man was caught on surveillance video fiddling with a lighter while pumping gas at an ACPO station in Thomastown, Australia around 3 p.m. Sunday, according to the Herald Sun newspaper.
The man can be seen flicking his lighter just before the gas he is pumping erupts in flames, sending him into a panic. The driver scrambles over the front of his car and takes off as fire engulfs the side of the vehicle, just inches away from the pump.
Luckily a quick-thinking bystander, Dr. Hussei Zaini, rushed over and doused the flames with a bucket of water, Seven News reported, as an attendant shut down the pump.
The owner of the gas station, Suzy Eid, was shocked that anyone would play with a lighter while pumping gas. "You wouldn't think anyone would be stupid enough to do that," Eid told Nine MSN. "It's incredible that he wasn't seriously injured. It could have been a disaster."
Melbourne Fire Brigade Deputy Chief Robert Taylor praised Zaini for quickly acting to put out the fire. "I think he had a fantastic presence of mind," Taylor told Seven News. "He has recognized the danger of the situation ... his bravery is to be commended."
The doctor was risking his own life in trying to prevent disaster, Taylor told Seven News — if any more gas had spilled on the ground, Zaini could have been engulfed as he approached the blaze.
Zaini said that he rushed to put out the fire because he feared for the safety of his two sons, who were there in the car with him.
"There could have been serious damage, so I decided to do something straight away, rather than waiting for the fire brigade," he told Nine MSN.
