Gas
Pumps Burst Into Flames
Static May be to Blame
by Steve Fowler - Fowler Associates
This Photo from Anderson Independent-Mail by Tracy
Glantz
Every year gas stations experience fires and explosions, some of which
are due to static discharges. We reported one such incident last
year. Aerosmith Car Explodes.
The latest report of an explosion was very close to the offices
of the ESD Journal. We took the opportunity to do a little investigation.
The following is an account of the accident. Please submit any comments
you may have. This situation is very serious and happens more
than we would like to admit. Reportedly it happens many hundreds
of times per year. The contractor who was installing the new pumps
for the station below had personally seen 3 such incidents in the past
20 years. All pumps are required to have electrical connection
between the nozzle and ground. This allows the car to be discharged
before the gas in started. Is this sufficient? What can we do
to help reduce the number of car/gas/station explosions?
Anderson, SC Friday April 9, 1999
Two brothers pulled into the Texaco station on I-85 in Anderson county,
South Carolina about 9:15 p.m.on April 8,1999 to get some gas (and some
cigarettes) .
The driver got out of the car and began to pump the gas into his Chevrolet
Cavalier. He was joined by his brother who stood near the car while
the gas was being pumped. Their car was nearly empty when they
stopped at the station. After pumping about five (5) gallons of
gas they were startled by a flame beginning in the car tank fill tube
area.
Flames erupted very quickly engulfing the gas nozzle and the
hand of the man who was pumping the gas. He immediately dropped
the nozzle which continued to discharge gas onto the asphalt. This
gas quickly began to feed the flames which had spread to the pump body
and up into the canopy of the station. The man who had been the
passenger of the car rushed over to the driver's door, opened it, jumped
in and tried to start it only to find the driver - who was busy trying
to extinguish the flames in the car gas tank fill area - had the keys.
He threw the manual drive car into neutral and with the assistance
of the driver pushed the car away from the pumps and to safety.
The station manager had heard the noises of the commotion and hit the
emergency shut off switch which immediately stopped the flow of gasoline
from the nozzle. The two brothers put out the flames in the pump area
with fire extinguishers.
Both men received minor burns but required no medical treatment. The
Cavalier will need a new tail light and paint job but thankfully this
story does not have a tragic ending. Everyone did a very good
job containing the explosive situation.
This station was undergoing renovations of its pumps. All the
old pumps were being changed out for the type with credit card entry
at the pump. This pump had been installed just ten (10)
days before the accident.
The accident is under investigation by the arson squad of the Anderson
Sheriff's Department and the insurance company. Many unanswered questions
remain. Was one or both of the men smoking? They say not.
There was no evidence of smoking found at the scene. However,
they were coming to the station for gas and cigarettes. Did
static cause the accident? When the nozzle was placed into the
fill tube of the car's gas tank, would not the static charge on the
car have been grounded? What would cause the flames to initiate
after 5 gallons had been pumped? A quick check of the pump by
this reporter showed the nozzle to be electrically connected to the
pump frame and most probably to ground as it was installed. Could
a person who had just slid across a car seat, go to an area where gas
is being pumped and discharge to the car or nozzle area and have
this charge travel to ground through the nozzle thereby igniting the
gas fumes which are being expelled by the tank being filled? Or was
there an electrical arc in the car or pump?
Give us your comments. They may help stop
these accidents from happening in the future.
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