This isn't a cooking mishap, but it's along the same line of discussion with exploding fire and gas...

I used to work for a hotel as a bellman/valet and every room had a gas fireplace that burned real wood. People often times couldn't figure out how to light the fireplace so they would call for help.

I learned early on that when the guest says "Oh, I turned the gas off" they probably turned it all the way up.

I went to light the fireplace for them and like SV said, it was like a wall of flame shot towards me. Fortunately my eyebrows were in tact, but the hair on my hands and about half way up my arms were completely gone! It all happened so fast and really didn't hurt, but it was amazing how fast the hair disappeared!