Why Taiho's aviation-fuel leak became catastrophic

How long could Taiho survive after a torpedo opened aviation-fuel tanks and fumes spread through the forward elevator well?

Only a short time was expected: escaped fuel mixed with air could ignite and produce rapidly rising heat and pressure, but no precise survival interval is given.

Escaped aviation fuel mixed with air created an immediate danger inside Taiho. Ignition would add heat and pressure and could involve other material in a larger fire or explosion. The estimate is that little time remained once those conditions developed, but it does not establish a precise interval between the fuel leak and catastrophe.