Precautions against getting 'gassed'? (1 Viewer)

Judge Mental

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Sep 2, 2009
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Oh dear! My mischievous prank seems to have been rumbled. :oops:

People will believe anything that they want to believe, despite all evidence to the contrary. I have an example.

I was working in an office a couple of years ago and overheard some young ladies discussing 'Spontaneous Human Combustion' (SHC). They were looking at a website on the subject and were all agreeing that this was indeed a strange and unexplained 'phenomena'. In other words they believed in what they read on the website and that SHC was indeed a true fact.

I joined their conversation and explained that this was in fact an old urban myth. I also explained how I knew it was such. No, not because I read it on the internet, that universal source of so much information both true and untrue. It was because as a SOCO, not only had I examined many scenes where a person had burned to death in a room that was not itself completely consumed by fire, but I was also a qualified fire investigator, having attended courses including the advanced fire investigation course at the Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh. By the way the SHC myth is discussed at these courses and the true science behind these types of fire deaths is well known and documented.

Anyway they were not convinced because they had read on the website that it was a real phenomenon - they believed, that for no apparent reason, people can simply burst into flames!

I then pointed out to one of the young ladies that the popular American TV series Mythbusters had done an item on it with all the appropriate experiments. Before I could finish my sentence the young lady interjected excitedly, "Yes, I saw that programme and they proved it was true!"

In actual fact the Mythbusters' verdict was 'Myth Busted' i.e. the myth was not true, SHC did not exist! The young lady however had completely turned the facts around and had remembered it as she WANTED to remember it.

At this point I decided that my time was best spent getting on with what I was supposed to be doing. :banghead:

So, not matter how many threads there are on MHF, no matter how illogical and daft the very idea of 'gassing' is, those who believe will continue to do so.

I hope I am forgiven for my little prank. :)

KH

Eye lad...Nowt as queer as folk:D

(but in your example she sounds a real thicko:))
 
May 21, 2008
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Hello

We are off on our first MH trip to France next month. What precautions should we take against being 'gassed'?

KH
What you need is a canary in a cage. If it falls of its perch then you know there is gas around. Make sure it's not a Norwegian blue though...

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DBK

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Quod erat demonstrandum... :D

KH
QED was the name of the BBC show where they demonstrated a possible explanation for spontaneous human combustion which I think is now reasonably well accepted - all to do with the wick effect and melting fat burning. :)

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Frentchy

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Oct 2, 2013
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Carbon Monoxide detector(y)

I was working in my workshop with the engine running, whilst soldering a few bits and pieces, next thing I knew was my wife waking me up with a cuppa; saying it smells bad and the door had closed. I had the same symptoms, and after effects as described below :sicker:

Hi, i know how these threads go but anyone here who has been robbed and some sedation chemical used then get in touch with me as I'm trying to piece together what happened on my trip back from the south of france. Here's my story, feel free to discredit it, i know most here are skeptical anyways but in order to advance any understanding of these attacks i feel this is important to contact any who have experienced it.

I never usually use an aires but this one time I did, i thought i'd get half an hour nap and be on the road again. about an hour later i was disturbed from my sleep and noticed two things, firstly there was a sound of rain but not the normal heavy rain drops it was very light rain. i flipped back the curtain to look out but there was no rain. i thought nothing and lay down again. next i noticed a flash light coming in at the window, i'd left the curtain slightly open, my thoughts were disoriented at this time and i was having problems moving. i fell unconscious again. next both my partner and i were both disturbed by someone in the vehicle down at the cab end, again i problems moving but managed to sit up in an exceptionally dazed state, unable to vocalise anything, move or lift my arms, the next thing i just collapsed back down like a dead weight and couldn't help but fall unconscious again.

we awoke a full 12hrs later feeling disoriented and with throbbing heads and very pale skin. it took us a while to realise we'd been robbed as we started to remember what had happened in the night. the door had been left open slightly by the thief and when we finally got round to calling police we found they were already there with other motor homes having being attacked aswell.

i don't know what chemical agent was used whether they pumped gas in or if they broke in and chloroformed us, either way it took about 3 days for both our headaches to stop (i don't ever get headaches) and a full week before the toxins left the body, both our stools turned a distinct grey colour for an entire week, which hasn't ever happened before.

I have since put deadlocks on every door and alarmed each door and put motion activated lighting and cameras in the vehicle and i would urge everyone else to do the same. maybe the cameras are overkill but I figure these are specialist gangs of criminals and the sooner evidence is obtained the better.

I would love to know what symptoms other forum members exhibited, PM me if you don't want them public, i realise how traumatic it maybe to retell your account in public and have it disbelieved or put down to being drunk or something, it is my thoughts they maybe using a range of methods and are highly skilled at rendering people unconscious.

thankyou so much and i know people on these forums don't want to be alarmed by these things but i feel it's necessary to inform potential travellers so as they can know what to look out for and can protect themselves.

I'd like to thank the moderator for allowing this post to go through as ultimately i don't want to scare anyone, i just need to make more sense of what happened and having read previous posts i know others have had similar experiences.

Just a thought:unsure: those symptoms sound a bit like the effects of car exhaust fumes, especially the couple of days after effects. Also the sound of light rain when it wasn't raining, could be the gentle tick over of a recent model petrol car engine:(
 

Jim

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What about being bonked on t'th'ead? Is that a bit like a lumpy gas attack?

Years ago a crooked lorry driver would have to get 'beaten up" by his accomplices when his load was stolen; the lumps on his head going someway to prove his 'innocence'. Nowadays there is no need for the rough stuff, they just need say they were asleep throughout, feel awful and must have been gassed. :)

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Tootles

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Are you saying that the Torygraph lies to it's readers? :)
They all lie to their readers. From 'The Sun' to 'The Mail', they print nothing but half truths and Frogwash........(That's a bit like grey water, JJ, but only available in France). (y)(y)

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Peatmoor

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Yep, I guess I agree with all the previous comments, gassing is something that happens to batteries!
to be sure your battery does not go down with gas, fit a gas alarm!
 

Shrimp

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Best advice

Do not get so drunk that you are totally incapacitated and unconscious and forget to lock the doors when retiring for the night, you will be ok then.
No, no leave the doors open, the gas will get out then!

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Scattycat

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Having lived in France for some 13 years we think the best advice we can give is to, drive to selected aire preferably one with security barrier, step outside van, lock all doors and windows, get bus or taxi to nearest town and book into best hotel you can find, before going to sleep put "do Not disturb" sign on the outside of the door, close door making sure you are on the inside of the room, go to bed and try and sleep.
Then, the following morning get bus or taxi back to aire, approach said van, open door with some trepidation ensuring that you are not smoking or carrying a naked flame, stick head in open van door, take deep breath, find that there is no smell of gas or a break-in, enter van, make a cup of tea or coffee, sit down and wonder why you were worried in the first place.
Simples!
 

Pete&Sara

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The whole gassing thing is an urban myth , ask any anesthetist it is impossible to gas people though a vent or similar
 

DuxDeluxe

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Jul 10, 2008
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Hello

We are off on our first MH trip to France next month. What precautions should we take against being 'gassed'?

KH
A good bit of fishing. Caught a few plus quite a few great joke responses (y)
 

LostOZ1

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Oct 5, 2013
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Im a newbie
We have purchased the trio alarm gas detector with two remote sensors as a kit from http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/safety_products.htm

Which we have tested for camping gas, and smoke (wife's cooking) and a range of other gases mostly the fly spray and other aerosols and it alerted us. It is a bit on the pricey side, but a lot less than being robbed.

We also fitted the following locks to the front doors HeboSafe, purchased from the same place.

We also fitted a Fiamma Security 31 White for the habitation door when we are away from the van and finally an alarm system fitted to all doors both on the van and the habitation area.

We have the HeboSfafe warning stickers on the side windows, the alarm stickers and the tracker sticker on the front window, this is as much a deterant as not having them. Two vans one without an alarm and one with, the one without would be the target of the criminal.

We have had our first time to France this summer and if you are careful and don't park by your self and use the aires you can be as safe as it can be, don't let the stories put you off, like every thing, one bad story gets told a thousand times but the fact that in France you see five times the amount of Motrohomes on the road as you do in the UK the risks are lower.

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magicsurfbus

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Oct 11, 2010
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Many French domestic letterboxes have a little sticker on them saying 'Pas Pub', meaning no publicite (ie junk mail).

I'd suggest a small sticker on the habitation door saying 'Pas Gaz', I'm sure Gaston Le Gasserfou will respect that.
 

DuxDeluxe

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Jul 10, 2008
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We have purchased the trio alarm gas detector with two remote sensors as a kit from http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/safety_products.htm

Which we have tested for camping gas, and smoke (wife's cooking) and a range of other gases mostly the fly spray and other aerosols and it alerted us. It is a bit on the pricey side, but a lot less than being robbed.

We also fitted the following locks to the front doors HeboSafe, purchased from the same place.

We also fitted a Fiamma Security 31 White for the habitation door when we are away from the van and finally an alarm system fitted to all doors both on the van and the habitation area.

We have the HeboSfafe warning stickers on the side windows, the alarm stickers and the tracker sticker on the front window, this is as much a deterant as not having them. Two vans one without an alarm and one with, the one without would be the target of the criminal.

We have had our first time to France this summer and if you are careful and don't park by your self and use the aires you can be as safe as it can be, don't let the stories put you off, like every thing, one bad story gets told a thousand times but the fact that in France you see five times the amount of Motrohomes on the road as you do in the UK the risks are lower.
We have a strikeback alarm which is set as a perimeter alarm when we sleep. Anyone breaking in would wake the dead...... this means that we don't need to make our van like Fort Knox. Anyway, if they want to break in they will simply break a window, closely followed by being eaten by the dogs.
 

DuxDeluxe

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Many French domestic letterboxes have a little sticker on them saying 'Pas Pub', meaning no publicite (ie junk mail).

I'd suggest a small sticker on the habitation door saying 'Pas Gaz', I'm sure Gaston Le Gasserfou will respect that.
Great idea (y)

We do have a sticker in the hab door that says "never mind the dogs, beware of the owner"

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KeithChesterfield

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For those of a nervous disposition or those who are gullible could I suggest a perusal of the Fruitcakes site would be of advantage to them -



You will find apparatus that could assist you in times of Gas Attacks
GAS MASK 1.jpg
GAS MASK 2.jpg
GAS MASK 3.jpg

 

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