Jan. 23--The man who suffered severe burns in a December gasoline pump explosion in Danbury died Tuesday evening in Bridgeport Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since the incident.
The Rev. David Wentroble, 60, a Presbyterian minister who most recently was director of pastoral care at Nyack Hospital in Nyack, N.Y., died between 6 and 7 p.m. Tuesday in the presence of family members, a hospital spokeswoman said.
A "compassionate person who just wanted to bring solace and hope to people," Wentroble made a career in comforting ailing patients at hospitals and hospices in Connecticut, New York and across the country, a line of work suited perfectly for his character, said a fellow clergyman in Nyack.
"He was a gentleman," said Fernando Arzola Jr., pastor of the First Reformed Church of Nyack. "He was a humble person who cared very deeply for people and their suffering, which is why he dedicated his life to pastoral ministry and to chaplaincy."
Wentroble suffered extensive burns the morning of Dec. 20 when he stopped for gas at the Citgo gas station on Tamarack Avenue.
At about 6:20 a.m., gasoline fumes ignited to create a fireball as Wentroble filled his vehicle's gas tank, inflicting severe burns on him but somehow failing to cause significant damage to either his vehicle or the pump he used, said Danbury Fire Chief Geoff Herald.
Staff at the gas station rushed to help extinguish the flames as city firefighters responded. Wentroble was soon transported to Bridgeport Hospital's burn center, while officials in Danbury struggled to determine what sparked the blaze.
In time, fire officials ruled out any possible defects in the gas station's equipment and determined the fire began accidentally.
Video surveillance of the incident did not show Wentroble doing anything that could have started the fire, such as using a lighter or striking a match.
Although the lack of evidence led officials to the theory that perhaps static electricity sparked the blaze, an exact cause will likely never be determined. Investigators were unable to speak to Wentroble about the incident due to his injuries.
"Our investigation, we left it because we could not determine a cause," Herald said Wednesday. "It was in the hands of the police department ... They were going to have to talk to him and they obviously weren't able to do that."
Though it is "extremely unusual," static electricity can ignite gasoline vapors when a person picks up a charge inside their vehicle and unwittingly transfers it to metal on or near the gas pump nozzle, according to the American Petroleum Institute. This occurs most often in cool, dry weather.
The person operating the pump can become charged by friction between his clothing and his car seat before he gets out of the vehicle to fill up. This can also happen if he gets back inside while pumping, according to the Petroleum Equipment Institute, which advises against ever entering a vehicle while fueling.
"It's just a terrible tragedy," Herald said, "a horrible thing to happen. And it's very difficult to recover from those type of burns and the type of exposure that this individual had."
A 1978 graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Wentroble intended to work in parishes until his first job as pastor of a Presbyterian church in West Virginia brought him to the bedsides of elderly parishioners. In time, he realized his true vocation lay in chaplaincy.
"You know, it's just terribly rewarding," Wentroble told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers in 2005 during his final week with Greenwich Chaplaincy Services as a spiritual leader in Greenwich's nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
"You get to know these people's life stories, the struggles they've had. Most of these people lived through the Great Depression, World War II, some of them World War I. You learn their loves, likes and dislikes. The people here are great gifts."
In his time in Connecticut, where he lived in Fairfield, Wentroble became chairman of the state's chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and also designed a religious program for dementia patients, an area in which he specialized.
After 14 years with Greenwich Chaplaincy Services, Wentroble took a position in Indiana before making his way to Nyack Hospital, where he "was both a resource and a friend to countless patients and staff members," said David H. Freed, president and CEO of the hospital.
"His involvement in people of all faiths' most wonderful and most difficult moments alike helped to double their pleasures and halve their sorrows, respectively," Freed said in a statement. "He seemed to be omnipresent throughout Nyack Hospital, and we will all continue to feel his presence yet miss him terribly."
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Copyright 2014 - The News-Times, Danbury, Conn.
