A dangerous combination

Combat Edge, Feb, 2003

Static electricity can make sparks fly--literally. Produce those sparks while pumping gas in your car, and both you and your car could go up in smoke and flames. Researchers at the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI), as well as several other companies, are working on a campaign to try and make the public aware of fires as a result of static electricity at gas pumps. Out of an estimated 16 to 18 billion fuelings a year in the United States, most are safe non-events that pose no danger to consumers. However, PEI has documented more than 150 incidents of static electricity related fires at fuel pumps nationwide, with more than half occurring since 1999. Even though incidents related to static electricity at retail gasoline outlets are extremely unusual, all motorists should be aware of the potential that re-entering their car creates static electricity that could cause a fire.

A buildup of static electricity can be caused by re-entering a vehicle during refueling, particularly in cool and dry climate conditions. If customers return to their vehicle's fill pipe when refueling is complete, the static could discharge at the fill point and cause a brief flash fire with gasoline vapors. To greatly minimize the likelihood of any buildup of static electricity, motorists should not get back into their vehicles during refueling. Customers who cannot avoid re-entering their car should always touch a metal part of the vehicle away from the fill point, such as a door, before removing the nozzle.

The following tips will help to keep you and your family safe at the gas pump year-round:

* Keep gasoline away from ignition sources such as heat, sparks, and flames.

* Do not smoke around gasoline, either at the pump or at home.

* Shut off the vehicle's engine when refueling and disable or turn off any auxiliary sources of ignition (i.e., camper/trailer heaters, cooking units, or pilot lights).

* Only store gasoline in containers with approved labels, as required by federal or state authorities. Never store gasoline in glass or unapproved containers.

* Place portable containers on the ground during filling, and keep the nozzle in contact with the container to prevent buildup and discharge of static electricity. Never fill a container in or on a vehicle.

* Manually control the nozzle valve throughout the filling process. Fill a portable container slowly to decrease the chance of static electricity buildup and minimize spilling or splattering.

* If gasoline spills on the container, make sure it has evaporated before you place the container in your vehicle.

* When transporting gasoline in a portable container, make sure it is secured to protect against tipping and sliding, and never leave it in direct sunlight or in the trunk of a car.

Editor's Note: For more information, visit the PEI and American Petroleum institute at www.pei.org and www.api.org.

RELATED ARTICLE: Static Electric Sets Man Ablaze at Gas Station

by Mr. James Coburn, Lackland AFB, Texas

A 50-year-old retired technical sergeant was severely burned on both legs recently after static electricity ignited gasoline as he filled gas cans in the bed of his pickup truck at the Lackland base shoppette.

In a video taken by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service store's security camera, four bystanders are shown frantically using their own clothing to help put out the flames burning on the man's gasoline-soaked pants legs and shoes.

Safety officials have long warned people not to fill gas cans sitting inside vehicles or in truck beds because of the danger of gasoline vapors being ignited by static electricity.

Another hazard reported recently is getting back into a car and not touching a metal ground before returning to the refueling nozzle and causing a static electricity spark.

In a video of the incident, the man is seen standing in the bed of his pickup as he fills five 5-gallon gas cans (three plastic and two metal) over a period of several minutes before a flash fire erupts.

Lt Col Brian Mullin, a former safety officer at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is seen driving up to an adjacent pump and starting to fill his vehicle when he notices what the man is doing just before the fire.

Mullin, now undergoing instructor pilot training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, said the retiree "did one of the classic things you shouldn't do ... refueling external gas cans (above ground) with plastic or rubber shoes on. This is an extremely textbook case of static electricity igniting an instantaneous fire.

"I was moving my lips to tell him, 'Sir, don't do that,' when the first flame started in the back of his truck," added Mullin.

"I saw the flame, and I told him to jump," he said. "He dropped the hose, which sprayed gas all over the truck. I told him to jump and run, which would have been really a good thing to do, but instead, he tried to throw the 5-gallon can that he had just fueled out the back to get it away from his truck, and that started the whole area on fire.

The man ran between the burning truck and the pump toward the store before he dropped and rolled on the pavement.