I heard this on the radio, then found the news story.<\/p>\n
Obviously, it is tragic. What caught my attention was that Smooth Radio (in one of its rare periods of broadcasting something other than silence or adverts superimposed over the news) reported that her parents “blamed the accident on peroxide that had leaked in her car “. Indeed, if you Google the story, you’ll be inundated with such headlines as: “Tragic hairdresser killed in hydrogen peroxide explosion “, “Hairdresser Killed As Bleach Blows Up Her Car “, “Hairdresser killed as bleach bottle catches fire “, and so on.<\/p>\n It seems a little unfair to point out that it was the cigarette <\/em>she lit\u00a0which caused the fire and not the peroxide. Mind you, the parents are asking that other hairdressers be made aware of the risks – presumably about peroxide, and not<\/em> smoking when you are driving.<\/p>\n Smoking whilst driving is far more of a risk than having hydrogen peroxide leak into your car.<\/p>\n Just to clarify a point: hydrogen peroxide is an oxidising agent. In itself, it isn’t flammable (it is classed as non-flammable), but it provides a source of oxygen which makes other things much more flammable than normal.<\/p>\n