This paper describes the case Study of a portable plastic gasoline container explosion and fire. While working at home on a science project to determine the burn rates of different types of wood fuel, a 14-year-old boy was severely burned after flames traveled back up into the portable gasoline container and exploded. A witness heard the explosion and reports that the flames went perhaps 10 ft in the air. It is shown by experimentation that a flame arrester installed in the pour opening of the portable gasoline container would have prevented an explosion inside the gasoline container. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.