Never open your car’s door while refueling: We explain why [Video]

Accidents at fuel refilling stations are not uncommon and happen around the world. However, they can be disastrous and extra precautions should be taken while filling fuel or doing anything else at the petrol stations. Most of us do not pay much attention to the warning signs placed at the filling stations. Well, you should pay attention to them and follow them. If you don’t, this is what happens. Here is a video that shows a person filling fuel in his vehicle, which causes a massive fire because of the way he does it. What causes the fire? Well, read on.

The CCTV footage shows a truck arriving at a fuelling station and the driver casually opens the door of the car and asks the attendant for fuel. The driver can be seen sitting inside the vehicle with the door open. This is something most of us do at a petrol pump station, right? Well, it can be extremely dangerous because of the invisible charges, which are known as static electricity!

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The video shows that the driver puts his feet on the door sill while chatting with the fuel pump attendant. The fuel pump attendant picks up the hose and puts it in the nozzle and starts filling the car. Within a few seconds, a fire erupts from the fuel nozzle and it spreads everywhere. After the fire spreads all over, the fuel pump attendant leaves the hose and runs away from the spot. The fuel spills all over and the fire spreads. Luckily, the driver played reacted quickly and after he failed to get out the vehicle from the door where he was sitting, he quickly moves toward the opposite door and comes out of the car to safety. The video shows the petrol pump attendant using fire hydrants to kill the fire and bring the situation under control and it could have been a disaster.

Static electricity can kill you

Static electricity is a flow of current between the two oppositely charged surfaces. A surface can get oppositely charged because of the friction and it happens the most during the dry weather. We all have felt static electricity in our lives and many times while exiting the car. It happens due to the friction between the tyres and the road and on rare occasions, the car’s body gets charged after driving on a long route. Whenever a person comes out of the car, the discharge can cause a spark and can cause fire such as this. The vapours of petrol can catch fire instantly and have a very low combustion temperature. Petrol station accidents can also happen due to many other reasons. A faulty hose, spill

ing on fuel and other such reasons can cause fires.

If you ever see fire breaking out like this while filling a vehicle, the best thing is to leave the hose and not pull it out of the tank. All the modern pumps have emergency cut off levers that stop the fuel supply immediately. Always use that and use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.

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