Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Static Fires at Gas Pump Preventable

Aired December 06, 2002 - 09:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you drivers out there want to pay attention to this next story. We all do it regularly, but few are fully aware of just how dangerous the simple task of filling up your gas tank can be. You don't have to light a match or smoke a cigarette to ignite the fuel. A deadly explosion can be caused by something a lot more simple.
Our Elizabeth Cohen joining us from Atlanta now with more -- Elizabeth, good morning.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, when I first started working on this story, I was amazed that something as innocent as getting into your car while the gas is pumping could lead to a fire. But we are about to meet a man where that is exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): They try to forget it now, the day Esperanza (ph) Sierra and her father were at the gas station. He was pumping gas when, suddenly, his pickup truck burst into flames. Esperanza (ph) was caught inside.

IGNACIO SIERRA, GAS PUMP FIRE VICTIM: She started screaming. I knew that when I opened the door, the fumes would start getting inside because there was flame all over.

COHEN: Ignacio Sierra miraculously got Esperanza (ph) out unharmed. His truck was ruined, the gas station burned down.

(on camera): The fire started because Ignacio Sierra did something many of us do. While the gas was pumping, he got back into his car to get money. The friction of his body against the seat created static electricity. Then, he got back out of his car, and when he touched the nozzle, the static electricity from his body created a spark which ignited the fumes coming out of the gas tank.

(voice-over): It was one of the 129 such fires documented by the Petroleum Equipment Institute since the early 1990s, and these fires make Stephen Fowler furious, because he says they are preventable.

STEPHEN FOWLER, STATIC ELECTRICITY EXPERT: We have to accept the fact that refueling is dangerous. We can't hide that from the public anymore.

COHEN: His solution? Put up stickers that say "Touch here." The sticker is over metal, and when you touch it, you get rid of your static electricity here, rather than at the nozzle.

But Fowler says no gas stations plan to put them up, except for one chain in South Carolina, which has designed this one. The American Petroleum Institute worries the stickers may detract from other warnings about, for example, smoking while pumping gas, which they say is far more dangerous.

DENISE MCCOURT, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: And that whole debate is going to go on about what is the right language, and how do we best warn our customers how they can safely refuel.

COHEN: Some stations, like this one, put up a list of warnings which include static fires, but Fowler says that is not nearly enough, the advice gets lost. And he says there is something else gas stations could do to protect consumers that they are not doing. Look at this surveillance tape from a gas station in Oklahoma.

A 32-year-old mother of four lost her life in this fire. It's not known exactly how the fire started, but if she had left the nozzle in the car, engineers say she probably would have lived.

FOWLER: In Oklahoma, the lady reached down to get the nozzle. It was too hot, so she grabbed it back here to pull it out, and when she did, it did a snake routine and sprayed gasoline in all this direction, and she tried to get away, but it was too late.

COHEN: Labels like this one warn, "In case of fire, do not remove nozzle."

But again, Fowler says, only the South Carolina chain plans on using it.

ERIC BAUMHOLSER, SPINX: We've seen the films of the woman that actually died, and we don't want that to happen.

COHEN: But the American Petroleum Institute says reading this label could be dangerous.

MCCOURT: We probably don't want to have people have their face that close to that nozzle.

COHEN: What everyone agrees is that customers need to learn that static gas fires at gas pumps are preventable, that something as simple as touching metal, any metal, before touching a gas nozzle could save your life, and if a fire does break out, don't pull the nozzle out of the tank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Static fires are most common in fall and winter because static is more likely to build up in cold, dry weather. Also apparently, these fires happen more commonly to women because women apparently are more likely to get back in the car while fueling -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I'm guilty as charged on that one, especially when it's cold like it is outside, Elizabeth. You look at that long list of things you're not supposed to do at the gas pump. It takes longer to read that than to actually fill up, but on this particular point, let's remind people again, you don't get back in, but if you do, what do you do?

COHEN: It is preferable not to get back in, although I am guilty as charged, just like you, Daryn. If you are going to get back in the car, before you touch the nozzle, touch some other metal. So you get back in the car, you keep warm, get out of the car, touch your car door, touch the canopy at the gas station, touch anything that is metal, and then put your hand on the nozzle and take the nozzle out of the car. Just touch metal before you touch the nozzle.

KAGAN: Thanks for the tip. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 6, 2002 - 09:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you drivers out there want to pay attention to this next story. We all do it regularly, but few are fully aware of just how dangerous the simple task of filling up your gas tank can be. You don't have to light a match or smoke a cigarette to ignite the fuel. A deadly explosion can be caused by something a lot more simple.
Our Elizabeth Cohen joining us from Atlanta now with more -- Elizabeth, good morning.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, when I first started working on this story, I was amazed that something as innocent as getting into your car while the gas is pumping could lead to a fire. But we are about to meet a man where that is exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): They try to forget it now, the day Esperanza (ph) Sierra and her father were at the gas station. He was pumping gas when, suddenly, his pickup truck burst into flames. Esperanza (ph) was caught inside.

IGNACIO SIERRA, GAS PUMP FIRE VICTIM: She started screaming. I knew that when I opened the door, the fumes would start getting inside because there was flame all over.

COHEN: Ignacio Sierra miraculously got Esperanza (ph) out unharmed. His truck was ruined, the gas station burned down.

(on camera): The fire started because Ignacio Sierra did something many of us do. While the gas was pumping, he got back into his car to get money. The friction of his body against the seat created static electricity. Then, he got back out of his car, and when he touched the nozzle, the static electricity from his body created a spark which ignited the fumes coming out of the gas tank.

(voice-over): It was one of the 129 such fires documented by the Petroleum Equipment Institute since the early 1990s, and these fires make Stephen Fowler furious, because he says they are preventable.

STEPHEN FOWLER, STATIC ELECTRICITY EXPERT: We have to accept the fact that refueling is dangerous. We can't hide that from the public anymore.

COHEN: His solution? Put up stickers that say "Touch here." The sticker is over metal, and when you touch it, you get rid of your static electricity here, rather than at the nozzle.

But Fowler says no gas stations plan to put them up, except for one chain in South Carolina, which has designed this one. The American Petroleum Institute worries the stickers may detract from other warnings about, for example, smoking while pumping gas, which they say is far more dangerous.

DENISE MCCOURT, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: And that whole debate is going to go on about what is the right language, and how do we best warn our customers how they can safely refuel.

COHEN: Some stations, like this one, put up a list of warnings which include static fires, but Fowler says that is not nearly enough, the advice gets lost. And he says there is something else gas stations could do to protect consumers that they are not doing. Look at this surveillance tape from a gas station in Oklahoma.

A 32-year-old mother of four lost her life in this fire. It's not known exactly how the fire started, but if she had left the nozzle in the car, engineers say she probably would have lived.

FOWLER: In Oklahoma, the lady reached down to get the nozzle. It was too hot, so she grabbed it back here to pull it out, and when she did, it did a snake routine and sprayed gasoline in all this direction, and she tried to get away, but it was too late.

COHEN: Labels like this one warn, "In case of fire, do not remove nozzle."

But again, Fowler says, only the South Carolina chain plans on using it.

ERIC BAUMHOLSER, SPINX: We've seen the films of the woman that actually died, and we don't want that to happen.

COHEN: But the American Petroleum Institute says reading this label could be dangerous.

MCCOURT: We probably don't want to have people have their face that close to that nozzle.

COHEN: What everyone agrees is that customers need to learn that static gas fires at gas pumps are preventable, that something as simple as touching metal, any metal, before touching a gas nozzle could save your life, and if a fire does break out, don't pull the nozzle out of the tank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Static fires are most common in fall and winter because static is more likely to build up in cold, dry weather. Also apparently, these fires happen more commonly to women because women apparently are more likely to get back in the car while fueling -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I'm guilty as charged on that one, especially when it's cold like it is outside, Elizabeth. You look at that long list of things you're not supposed to do at the gas pump. It takes longer to read that than to actually fill up, but on this particular point, let's remind people again, you don't get back in, but if you do, what do you do?

COHEN: It is preferable not to get back in, although I am guilty as charged, just like you, Daryn. If you are going to get back in the car, before you touch the nozzle, touch some other metal. So you get back in the car, you keep warm, get out of the car, touch your car door, touch the canopy at the gas station, touch anything that is metal, and then put your hand on the nozzle and take the nozzle out of the car. Just touch metal before you touch the nozzle.

KAGAN: Thanks for the tip. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com