I guess some folks would be astonished what live steam burns can do as well...roast your flesh and leave your clothing intact. Horrid stuff.

Redleg points out what I though was obvious...lack of oxygen kills. That was part of what flame throwers were for in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

Fuel air explosives make use of the air in the atmosphere. The trick is getting a good dispersion of the fuel...then WHAM! That's why we have flare stacks to *ignite* flammables rather than just venting them...better to light them off before they disperse. That way you have a powerful steady flame, not an explosion.

Of course if like me, you've ever worked around ethylene oxide and similar compounds, and done design for distilling/handling these materials, you get an appreciation for their dangers. EO is about the worst as an industrial material since it carries its own oxygen...just waiting for a chance to go into deflagration mode. You have to be real careful how you design a reboiler for this puppy...or you will do what everyone else in the industry has done...launched their EO distillation tower like a rocket while levelling the facility. No, I'm not kidding.