By John B Monteiro
Mangaluru, Oct 9: Petrol and gas dispensing bunks, popularly called petrol pumps, are fire traps waiting for disaster potentially killing and maiming of persons and loss of property worth crores of rupees. But, first the facts, starting from nearer home in Mangaluru.
As reported in Daijiworld, in what could have been a major tragedy, an Omni van caught fire at a petrol bunk at Capitanio, Mangaluru on October 8, 2015. The Omni had gone to the petrol bunk to fill LPG. Soon after filling, the driver turned on the ignition and the van caught fire.The driver immediately got out and fled away. The alert staff pushed the vehicle out of the petrol bunk and started dousing the fire using fire extinguishers. At the time of the incident, a gas tanker was also in the premises for unloading fuel (This is against the safety norms). Luckily, the fire did not spread to any other vehicle or the petrol bunk.
Petrol pump fires are so common that NDTV has produced and broadcast a documentary, in March 2015, on the subject and pranksters have started rumours on the subject. In May 2015 for a few days, a photo of a petrol pump engulfed in fire in suburban Mumbai had been making the rounds of social media. The issue got hyped up when a few credible agencies also posted these photos about the fire on Twitter. But, like many social media hoax calls this one also turned out to be a false alarm. The local Fire Brigade officials denied the occurrence of such a fire in their area and said the photos were of different areas.
The internet is full of news and photos (and even videos) of fires all over India. Take a sampling. A car parked at a petrol pump on Camac Street in Calcutta caught fire in January 2012. In May 2015 a petrol pump of Hindustan Petroleum at Amarvati Road at Wadi, near Nagpur, was engulfed in flames leading to a loss of about Rs two crores. The fire occurred when an oil tanker was unloading product into the underground storage tank. The tanker driver fled after unsuccessfully trying to douse the fire. In June 2014, while filling his bike a man answers his mobile and this triggered fire at a petrol pump in Pune. There are instances galore of petro pump fires to fill a book.
Without going into why petrol pumps are highly fire hazards, there are laws, rules and fat manuals on the subject – disseminated by the likes of US National Fire Protection Association and American Petroleum Institute and similar agencies in other countries. Their regulations start with the location of petrol pumps according to which in the case of Mangaluru not many petrol pumps will pass muster. Then there are rules about displaying cautionary notices on the premises like: Beware: Do Not Pump Full Tank Petrol. Stop Engine. Avoid Fire by Static Electricity. Don’t Use Electronic Devices.” There is also warning against “getting in and out of your vehicle while refuelling. A static electricity charge can develop on your body as you slide across the seat ... a spark can ignite petrol”. According to US Fire Protection Association, warning signs shall be conspicuously posted at individual dispensing incorporating the following wordings: “Warning – No Smoking, No Naked Lights, Stop Engine. The lettering shall be at least 50mm in height. The signs shall be posted not less then 1.8 m and not more than 2.5 m above the ground level. Please check your favourite petrol pump for these signs. The volatility and fire-proneness of petrol and other similar products is the same in USA and India.
But unlike in USA, the petrol pump location in India, except in the case of highway locations, and specially in cities and towns, are against international standards of safety in terms of locating away from population clusters. So, we have to take extra precautions, specially to cope with the behaviour patterns of our drivers and the context of Indian petrol supply patterns which are conducive to stampedes at petrol pumps. These include shut-downs by bunk owners to secure higher commissions or other grievances. Shortage or drying up of supplies due to strike by transporters. Frequent change in prices of products and the rush to fill the tank before the impending rise in prices. Lastly, the lack of discipline and jumping the Q, specially by two-wheeler riders. All these and road rage can lead to a stampede at the petrol bunk enhancing the danger of fire. Thus, petrol pumps are fire traps with great potential for killing and maiming humans and destroying property.
Can we reduce this risk? Buildings where motor traffics is expected have entry and exit gates to regulate smooth movement of vehicles. Take the example of Bondel church situated opposite the Daijiworld office. A decade ago, the church compound hosted a dozen vehicles of the congregation. In the last five years there were scores of vehicles. So, couple of years ago, a second gate was opened for ordered entry and exit. Lately, they have opened a third gate to give access to the road. It is to be remembered the congregation is disciplined, know each other and are unlikely to get into road rage.
On the other hand, the drivers at the petrol bunk are strangers and men of great ego when they are behind the steering wheel and are prone to be potential road-ragers. In the context of rush at petrol pumps noted earlier, the minimum that can be done to avoid a tragedy at the petrol pumps is to have orderly exit and entry points so that in the case of a fire or eruption of violence there could be easy evacuation of vehicles so that there is no stampede and damage. I invite you to take a close look at Mangaluru’s petrol pumps and check out how many of them have “Entry” and “Exit” sign boards. Whose responsibility is it to enforce this critical safety precaution? Is it the District Administration or the RTO or the Traffic Police or the Fire brigade? I rest my case.