Petrol pump fire: Do you read, heed warnings?

A fire that gutted part of a fuel station in Dubai on Saturday afternoon has once again highlighted the risk of keeping vehicle engines on while filling fuel. A Range Rover, two fuel dispensers and other parts of the forecourt section of Enoc Petrol Station number 1001 were burnt after the vehicle caught fire while the car owner was inside the supermarket at the station.

Speaking to ‘Emirates24|7’, sources working in the partially brunt fuel station said the two dispensers, including the one filling fuel for the Range Rover vehicle that caused the fire, have been totally burnt nut no staff has sustained any major injuries.

The staff of a Zoom outlet and Starbucks and other ancillary shops in the petrol station were largely unaffected by the fire that started around noon on Saturday.

The fire did not spill over to the stored petrol or other facilities in the fuel station as the alert staff switched off the Fireman Switch – a main switch to disconnect fuel supply from the huge underground diesel and petrol tanks.

“Customers are always advised to switch off the engine while filling petrol or diesel. Not many customers heed to this warning, noted prominently at all fuel stations. Fuel dispensing personnel are given fire and safety training,” said a source working in the burnt site.

The fuel station has been sealed by Dubai Police and an investigation into the cause of the fire continues.

There are several statutory warnings like switching off mobile phones, vehicle engines, non-smoking, etc., which are at times violated by customers.

Even when station attendants request them not to do so, there have been cases of customers not heeding to their advice.

Small fire extinguishers weighing less than 10kg are kept besides each fuel dispenser in a petrol station and bigger ones with 50kg capacity are also available to control bigger fires. All staff at petrol station across the UAE is trained to handle these fire extinguishers.

Fire fighting and civil defence rules are written near the fuel dispensers, urging staff to call the emergency staff of the company and the Civil Defence in case of a fire.

The warning note clearly advises customers to switch off engine and mobile phones and strict non-smoking in the fuel station. “These rules are mostly violated by customers and the staff cannot impose these rules on customers because they won’t normally heed. Enoc has undertaken a plan to train more than 5,000 of its employees with the help of Dubai Civil Defence and Enoc’s Environment, Health and Safety Department to provide training programmes at the facility in phases.
 
 

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