NWDave

For the past few weeks, we've been discussing static electricity. This is an article from the Air Force Retiree News Service which makes you a believer in fuel handling safety. I'm sure most of you saw the videos on nightly news.<br><br>Error fuels base service station blaze <br><br>by James Coburn <br>37th Training Wing Public Affairs <br><br>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 base shoppette at Lackland AFB, Texas.<br><br>Lackland Fire Chief J.L. Ball said a placard on the gasoline pumps warns motorists to put gas cans on the ground to fill them, but people might not notice them. <br><br>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. <br><br>Tech. Sgt. Ed Jones, a Warrior Week instructor and one of the bystanders, removed his battle dress uniform top and wrapped it around the man's legs to help extinguish the flames, but they kept re-igniting. Thinking quickly, he pulled a window cleaner reservoir from a rack at the pump and poured the water on the man's legs. <br><br>A shoppette mechanic rushed the man to nearby Wilford Hall Medical Center in his pickup. Jones, who accompanied the man, also was treated for minor burns he received as he smothered flames. <br><br>Safety officials long have 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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>Mullin, now undergoing instructor pilot training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, said the retiree &quot;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. <br><br>&quot;I was moving my lips to tell him, 'Sir, don't do that,' when the first flame started in the back of his truck,&quot; added Mullin. <br><br>&quot;I saw the flame, and I told him to jump,&quot; he said. &quot;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. <br><br>&quot;So now he's on fire, the back of the truck's on fire, and the can that just hit the ground started a big fire behind the truck.&quot; <br><br>The man ran between the burning truck and the pump toward the store before he dropped and rolled on the pavement. <br><br>Mullin ran after the man, ripping off his two T-shirts to beat out the burning clothes, &quot;but they did not do much good because they (caught) on fire,&quot; he said. <br><br>Jones ran to use his BDU top on the flames, and another man and a woman also helped the retiree. <br><br>Firefighters arrived on scene within two minutes and extinguished the blazing truck five minutes after arriving. <br><br>Ball said the damage to the AAFES fuel pump was estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 and to the retiree's 1993 Mazda pickup, $2,500. The retiree, who received third-degree burns of his legs below the knees, later was transferred to local Brooke Army Medical Center's burn unit for further treatment. <br><br>

turboblue

NWDave<br><br>Saw the video clip of that fire on CNN yesterday. The fellow that got burned was lucky there was someone around to help him. The whole place could've gone up. Static electricity is more powerful than most people realize.

redramnc

Down here in the soupy South we rarely see this kind of occurence. However, my wife spent four years in Anchorage, Alaska and is always reminding me to ground out myself and any containers before fueling. Due to the lack of humidity in Alaska they have ground straps on the pumps to attach to your vehicle before fueling to keep the static dissipated.<br><br>Kinda makes you wonder how aerial refueling keeps the charges from igniting all of that high-octane jet fuel, especially when &quot;ground&quot; is 10,000-plus feet below.

Shovelhead

News and safety folks report this occurs mostly in colder weather as people get out, start the pump, get back in the car until the pump handle clicks, then slide out across their cloth seats (creating a large static charge) then grab the grounded pump handle creating a nice fat spark right in the fume cloud emmiting from the fuel filler opening.
That's another reason that I take Wifey's truck for fuel/gas.

gitchesum

Jet fuel is actually just a lighter diesel fuel. I can't see it igniting like a gasoline can.
You wanna see what static electricity will do?
This used to be a 31 ft cabin cruiser. 1965 Trojan all wood hull. Static electricity from a plastic gas can sparked and ignited the fumes which ended up igniting the 5 gallon gas can in my hand and the 60 gallon gas tank in the deck below me. Talk about a fun day.:
Check this out:

Shovelhead

[quote author=gitchesum link=board=10;threadid=8270;start=0#80104 date=1039833946]<br>Jet fuel is actually just a lighter diesel fuel. I can't see it igniting like a gasoline can. <br>[/quote]<br><br>Yer right....but I don't wanna be parked next to Yollanda Yuppie when she does her version of &quot;You Light Up My Life&quot; with her Beemer..

CaptainDD

Static electricity is every where. When you see lightening your are looking at static electricity. When the planes are refueling they are touching each other and that helps to eliminate the electricial charge. To keep to eliminate static you ground and bond the items together to make them the same potenial. Several things that you can do to prevent explosions while refueling are. Never refuel portable gas cans in the back of the vehicle set them on the ground.When refueling the can (Plastic) tilt the can so that the fuel will run down the inside of can in stead of free falling. Free falling fuel can build up an electrical charge. When pouring the fuel front the can make sure that it runs down the inside of tank. Had a friend just dump fuel into his plane on a cold day.The static built up and blew up his plane.Make sure that you touch the outside of your vehicle before removing the hose.

AlpineRAM

Over here the gas stations are required to have some king of gas resorption unit on the fueling nozzles. They suck in the fuel fumes and put them through a filter. (Out of environmental reasons- sbdy calculated that refueling without these devices will emit about the same amount of HC as running the car for 1500 miles). Since we have these things the fires on fueling stations have dropped significantly. Some security expert stated that it's easier to remove the explosive vapours than to implement intelligence and discipline among the customers. <br><br>AlpineRAM

NWDave

Now, if we could just educate those idiots who like to smoke while filling up their vehicles. This also goes for the occupants. Don't cite the laws, it doesn't matter to them. I don't care if you smoke, just don't do it in a gas station while you've got the fuel nozzle in your hand and are pumping gas. One got very upset and told me to go do unmentionable things to myself when I pointed out to her that lit cigarettes and gas fumes had an explosive reaction. Unfortunately, she's already reproduced so theres more contamination of the gene pool. (Her children were sitting in the car). Sorry for the outburst. Static electricity is one thing, stupidity is totally different.<br><br>~Dave

P Kennedy

I posted a reminder of truths over on TDR about this very topic and the myths of diesel fuel not being as dangerous as gasoline. This post was met with irresponsible retalitory heresay based on personal feelings of people in a hurry or inconvenienced by uncomfortable weather conditions. While generally diesel fuel is harder to ignite by open flame it is also a fact that electricity is a major contributing factor to fuel ignition sources including diesel and other fuel oils. Diesel engines have a hot fuel return line which produces hot vapors which in nature are explosive and technically are called heated atomized fuel particles. Coincidentally this is similar to the very purpose of an injector in your engine to produce hotter burning combustion (power). However this info means nothing to the unlimited amount of self absorbed fools who care not of you or your families safety. We don't like intervention in our lives but eventually with computors, electronics and stupidity these people will engineer more automatic compliant technology. We already have engines governed for speed and security, to integrate a grounding electrical system shutdown while fueling followed by a fuel card security which garranties Safety, Payment and Compliance wont be difficult. It is just disheartening as the government takes away our ability to think based on those that can't. PK

AlpineRAM

NWDave: Over here the fine for smoking at a fueling station is about 2 months income of the average employee. If you refuse to put your cigarette out on a fueling station it is called something like purposefully endangering and can be punished with up to 2 years. <br>PK- Diesel is very easy to ignite when warm- correct. The fuel return line as a good source for warm agitated diesel -correct.<br>A sign on the filler cap saying that diesel fumes are hazardous is on my RAM and came from the factory. <br>The problem I see is that more and more people become illiterate. Maybe it would help to construct devices like a little monitor above the fuel door showing nice little films about how to refuel and how not to do it and make them compulsory on each car. And imprint pictograms of crossed out fuel islands on every cigarette. And ......<br><br>Sorry just had to vent- got some nice encounter with a guy today changing fuel filter on his car and smoking while doing so.... <br><br>AlpineRAM

athompson

I knew that there was more to it than what the news was reporting. The amount of fire wasn't explained by &quot;a static discharge while filling his vehicle&quot; story. It is very much explained by filling gas cans in the bed and his knee-jerk reaction to save his precious little truck.<br><br>He was fortunate that he didn't cause more damage to the station and burn more people.

P Kennedy

NWDave while venting at gas station inquire about fire regulations from fire marshal and perhaps he will stop buy and pay them a visit. My money is on the owner of the station wanting to help his neighborhood fire marshal get in compliance from an anonymous patron. If station owners and fire marshals know we are watching it may help. PK