Are You Refueling Vehicle or Fueling Fire?

It’s hard to imagine a life without automobiles in this century. Vehicles are the bloodline of today’s growing economy. Majorly, connecting the demand of talented skilled work force with supply and transferring goods from producers to end consumers whilst providing convenience to travel.  Commuting has become a part and parcel of one’s life right from early school days. We try our best to keep our vehicle in safest condition to avoid any problem on the road and accidents that can turn fatal to us and our loved ones. But how many of us take due precautions when filling up our automobiles with highly inflammable fuel?

Risks associated with petrol/ diesel: Petrol/ diesel is a highly volatile liquid, which gives off flammable vapor at very low temperaturePetrol/ diesel vapor is heavier than air. It does not disperse easily in still air conditions and tends to sink to the lowest level within its surroundingsPetrol/ diesel floats on water and can be carried long distances by watercourses, ducts, drains or groundwater.

Considering the highly populated country that we live in, a large number of petrol pumps are located in congested areas. Where, in case of emergency, for a fire tender to reach may take much more time than we may have at hand before turning the accident in to a disaster.

​Most of the fueling stations in the cities and towns are merely equipped with portable fire extinguishers and sand buckets, which are suitable only for small instances of fire. Whereas, the issue of safety at fueling stations is of much higher alert.

A fire at a petrol station is not like any other blaze and use of water on such fires is pointless as we know that fuel fires just float above water. And in view of all the risks involved with a water based extinguisher, Ceasefire has improvised fire extinguishers that are specially designed for fighting fuel fires like – B Plus, Action Pac, Foam based extinguisher, CAFS, Quad. ​ Various studies at the international level show that instead of depending on staff to use a portable extinguisher or sand there should also be a detection system in place. Like a mechanism to cut off the oxygen supply to the tank in case of an emergency. However, during decantation and fueling up of vehicles, added wariness is required as even a minute spark can evoke catastrophic repercussions.

Safety Tips that you can follow when refueling at a petrol station:Turn off your vehicle's engine when refuelingDon’t smoke, light matches or use lighters while refuelingDo not use electronic devices such as cell phones while refueling To avoid spills, do not overfill your vehicleIf you must come out or get into the vehicle during refueling, discharge any static electricity by touching metal on the outside of the vehicleIf filling a container instead of the fuel tank, never fill it when it is in the vehicle. Always place the container on the ground as there is a dangerous risk of spill of fuel inside the vehicle