Why so many fires at filling stations

[bbeaty]

There are more fires? Says who?

On the other hand I’ve noticed a recent phenomenon: lots of news articles about gas-station fires caused by electrostatic discharge. They’ve suddenly appeared over the last two or three years.

I suspect that there have always been a few fires at gas stations, many of them mysterious, but only recently have the authorities discovered that the mysterious ones were preventable.

The news media is doing its job: educating everyone about a danger which is accidentally caused by public ignorance. Sometimes you jump out of the car, walk around to the gas pump handle protruding from your car’s tank, and reach out to grab it. !Snap! FOOOOOSH! It might be a rare event, but if everyone is informed (and paranoid) about it, the incidence of these might become even lower.

CHEVRON Inc warning
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/product_safety.shtml

PEI: Tulsa Letter: refueling fires
http://www.pei.org/static/TLrefueling_fires.htm

More PEI stuff on refueling fires
http://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.pei.org+"refueling+fires"

ESD Journal: refueling fires
http://www.esdjournal.com/static/refuelfr.htm
Also:

Car door sparks, doorknobs, ‘electric people’
http://amasci.com/emotor/zapped.html

[samclem]

Here’s some more info from that famous, scientific, refereed journal, the Pine Bluff(Ak) Commercial News.

Pine Bluff Fire Chief David Parsley said his department has responded to several fires they believe were caused by static electricity, including two since the first of the year. “You don’t hear about it a lot but it’s a real possibility,” Parsley said.

Of course, he could be right. They believe. …a real possiblity.

Fire Marshal Danny Dial said studies have shown women in particular are vulnerable to the possibility of fires caused by a spark of static electricity.
“I don’t know if it’s because of their nylons or what, but soccer moms in minivans seem to be involved in a lot of these,” Dial said.
“A lot of times, they will start pumping gas, get back into their vehicle to stay warm, then get out and touch the nozzle without grounding themselves again.”

Again, he could be right. Or he could be full of shit.

[Telemark]

Modern car tires are more energy efficient (lower rolling resistance), but as a result don’t disapate static electricity as well. This could possibly be the cause of more static electricity accidents.