Knock out Gas

Pete Westy

Pete Westy

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I am prompted by ostersunds warning about thieves "...using a knock out GAS under the door to render the people inside unable to respond then they break in & steal everything they can carry".
I have read about this happening at restplaces in France, Belgium, Italy and now Sweden.
I don't wish to sound complacement but this seems to me a pretty unlikely way to rob you. The thieves risk either killing you or not fully anaesthetising you. This is hard enough to do in an operating theatre.
How do they get the gas in - we have door seals don't we? Don't people have toxic gas alarms?

Assuming they can do this succesfully they still have to break into the vehicle and we do have alarms don't we? And usually there are other vehicles nearby.
Seems to me its a lot easier to hang around a city area where we park, wait for us to leave in order to look at the local tourist sites, and then steal the complete vehicle. Its worth much more than all your cameras, TVs, SatNavs, DVD players and other toys anyway

Does anybody actually have first-hand experience of this 'Gas Attack' or is it just another myth?

(By the way, there is a warning notice in all Swedish rest areas which says that you can overnight there but your vehicle may be safer in a camp site - a reasonable disclaimer I would say)
 
The only true thing about gas attacks is that the world of internet forums has daily postings about this urban myth, perpetuating it probably for all eternity.

The Royal College of Anaesthetists official line sums it up nicely. From Professor Hatch, their Clinical Advisor:

"I can give you a categorical assurance that it would not be possible to render someone unconscious with ether without their knowledge, even if they were sleeping at the time. Ether is an extremely pungent agent and a relatively weak anaesthetic by modern standards and has a very irritant affect of the air passages, causing coughing and sometimes vomiting. It takes some time to reach unconsciousness, even if given by direct application to the face on a rag, and the concentration needed by some sort of spray into a room would be enormous. The smell hangs around for days and would be obvious to anyone the next day.

There are much more powerful agents around now, some of which are almost odourless. However, these would be unlikely to be able to achieve the effect you describe, and the cost would be huge enough to deter any thief unless he was after the crown jewels. The only practicable agent is probably the one used by the Russians in the Moscow siege - I advised the BBC on their programme about this. The general feeling is that they used an agent which is not available outside the KGB!

Finally, unsupervised anaesthesia, which is what we are really talking about is very dangerous. In the Moscow siege about 20% of victims died from asphyxia, because their airways were unprotected. If the reports you talk about are true I would have expected a significant number of deaths or cases of serious brain damage to have been reported."

Professional Standards Directorate
The Royal College of Anaesthetists
 
I suspect the most usual form of anaesthesia involved in these magical robberies where the victims don't hear or feel a thing is self administered alcohol in large quantities just prior to retiring for the night..

Next morning comes a "Whoops. What am I going to tell my insurance company" moment
 
its a bit of a myth about being knocked out by gas...you are more likely to be knocked out by your own cooker being faulty if lit and you go to sleep from nox fumes.....there is a massive thread about gas attacks on trucknet forum all about gas attacks..
 
I think what happened to basildog is the most likely scenario. Gassing is definitely an urban myth.

Thieves might be quick but I have got 4 dogs that are quicker and are armed with sharp teeth.;) The 2 Pugs are harmless but their faces will give you a fright on a dark night.:D
 
or bolt a small safe or at the least a locking box somewhere under the seats(if they are the lift up type)or some other discrete place..
 
knockout gas

wot a load of crxx ! have talked to aniethstatis on this subject and they have said its vertually impossible because of the amount of gas needed.we have talked to people who`s freind of a freind of an aunt second removed has been gassed but have never talked to the actual victim.personaly i think its an insurance scam,or the so-called victims have had too much to drink.
ancientmariner
 
Surely if it was possible then the use of "knock out gas" would be much more widespread (baddies can share info just as easily as we can) ...

It would inevitably have been used in a high profile case, and "properly" investigated ... and the method discovered, tested and publicised.
 
does eating baked beans count for gassing ..after a night with the men (john smith and jack daniels) ;)
 
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