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Home > Departments > Environment, Health & Safety > EH&S Programs > Fire and Life Safety > Fire Safety Education Videos > Gas Pump Fire Safety

Gas Pump Fire Safety

Gasoline fumes are highly flammable and will readily ignite when they find an ignition source. In this video the customer is able to lock the gasoline pump handle on so that fuel continues to flow while she returns to the vehicle. Notice that she slides back and forth on the seat several times as she checks progress, creating a static electric charge. It is this static electric charge that produces a spark when she touches the nozzle and ignites gasoline fumes around her gas tank fill tube. She was lucky and was not injured, but she could just as easily been seriously burned. Her reaction to the fire is even more dangerous, as she shuts off the nozzle and tries to blow out the flames. She should have simply went directly to the station attendant and had him or her turn off electrical power to the pump, using their emergency pump shut-off switch. 

In New York State gasoline retailers are required to disable the locking device on their pump nozzles, making it necessary to hold the nozzle handle open. This reduces the possibility of a static charge developing and causing gasoline fumes to ignite, but does not eliminate the possibility of a fire. If a customer were to release the handle, leave it in place while returning to the vehicle and then come back to the nozzle without touching a metal surface a static arc could be discharged.

The safest way to avoid developing a static charge that could result in a fire is to be sure that you touch metal on your vehicle, before you begin fueling or restart fueling if you go back to your vehicle for any reason.