Cell phones causing fires at the pump!?

it can happen

There was a guy at Lackland (San Antonio) who was on his cell phone pumping gas and caused a huge fire..... they made a video for it and showed it to us..... not saying they're not just trying to scare us but..... I think it could happen, even more so after watching the video
 
I work at Imperial Oil and let me tell you that if ANYONE has a cell phone near the wells, or even a digital watch.... the s*** will hit the fan. This also goes for safety in many gas plants in North Amertica. The odds of these devices actually being the cause of the fire are VERY slim, though it CAN happen. And unfortunately HAS happned and is why we watch safety videos and survalence videos of this sort of things happening. In a very gas-rich environment, especially near condensate gas, the atmosphere is very unstable and the slightest spark or ignition source can be fatal.
 
yep, cell phones are bad....

so instead i only leave my car running and smoke
a cigarette to pass the time while i fill up my tank.

:D


...when i see people smoking while filling a tank...
i just drive away as FAST AS POSSIBLE.
 
REMillers said:
But if you have a Nextel phone, then steer clear. :) These things disturb all kindas of equipment. Drives my car stereo nuts when talking to people, speakers cracking and poping. Does it with everyone else Nextel phones to.
Click to expand...

This is because Nextel phone transmitt at a higher wattage than most other cell phones. Since your stereo wires are not shielded they pick up the signal which is expressed as crackling and popping.

According to a computer tech I talk to once (he services computers at some of the local gas stations) The real reason they don't want you to use cellphones at the pump is that some (depending on the age of the system) or all of the info at the pump (amount of gas, price of gas, total amount and credit card info) is transmitted to the computer systems inside via wireless connection. Some cellphone (especially analog) can screw up that signal.
 
P5blk_stal said:
It has some truth to it. When I was in the military, the demolition men did a demonstration with a regular handheld CB radio and the antenna against a florescent light bulb. There was enough static electricity to light it. IMO, I think that a cell phone emitts more radio energy than a CB radio. It is just smart not to be the one who verfies if it is true or not.


p5blk_stal (blackp5)
Click to expand...

That's not due to static electricity that's due to electro magnetic induction. Similar but not the same as when a electrical charge in one sparkplug wire induces an electrical charge in a sparkplug wire next to it. Hence the reason for the helicoiled or shielded sparkplug wires that reduce or eliminate this phenomena.
 
Thanks for the info Big-J, I think that there is truth to it for a large oil company to issue a warning. Good for you to stick out your neck and give the rest of us info.

Don't worry about some negative comments, it always happens on the board. It is what makes this board so interesting..... .
 
Can someone post that video proof of cell phones causing fires? My only knowledge of this is through snopes saying not poseible, Myth Busters attempting to cause a fire and failing, and the PEI and PMAA stating it is not possible.
 
mythbusters on discovery channel proved this false. they couldnt get a full room of gas vapors to blow up with a cell phone, even with a direct electrical charge to the phone they couldnt do it. what probly happened was the static electricity like bazooka joe was mentioning caused the spark and kablooey!!!
 
I have sene videos of people who start pumping gas, go get in the car for something, come back out, touch the nozzle, then boom. That is possible. I will look for videos.
 
Is this crock still circulating the internet? Notice the article is dated in '04. Just because you saw it in the news does not mean it's true. I have seen many articles disclaiming this rumor since it start several years ago.

As stated in the earlier replies the TV show Myth Buster did a show on static electricity causing gasoline explosion to see if the cell phone rumor has any merit. They were creating a spark in a plastic enclosure full of gasoline fume and they could not ignite it. An ignition can only be created with the correct fuel to air mixture was what they determined. A cell phone cannot create a spark. Maybe the defective-exploding cell phone batteries that were recalled could cause an explosion.

Unless you're buying gas from an old pump they will always have a recirculating boot to limit the amount of fumes escaping into the atmosphere. You have a better chance of getting killed in an automobile accident than getting blown up in a gas station by a cell phone or not. Also, the CB radio did not create any static when it's antenna was held close to the light. That demonstration was misleading.
 
What's all this talk about cell phones and gas pumps blowing up? (jerkit) You young people just don't get it! When I was a kid we didn't have sissy cell phones to cause explosions at gas pumps!!! PLEASE!! We had good old fashion cigarettes, god dammit!!! (smoke) Back in the day you could light up at the pump and cause an explosion the old fashion way, by tossing your match right down the filler hole!!! You'd catch fire and have put it out by rollin' around on the ground cause we didn't have fancy fire extinguishers... AND WE LIKED IT!!! THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS, AND WE BLOODY WELL LOVED IT!!!
 
DaCa-Grumpy%20Old%20Man.jpg


Pro5Monkey said:
What's all this talk about cell phones and gas pumps blowing up? (jerkit) You young people just don't get it! When I was a kid we didn't have sissy cell phones to cause explosions at gas pumps!!! PLEASE!! We had good old fashion cigarettes, god dammit!!! (smoke) Back in the day you could light up at the pump and cause an explosion the old fashion way, by tossing your match right down the filler hole!!! You'd catch fire and have put it out by rollin' around on the ground cause we didn't have fancy fire extinguishers... AND WE LIKED IT!!! THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS, AND WE BLOODY WELL LOVED IT!!!
Click to expand...
 
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