WV ARES BULLETIN NR 08.51 DATE: December 21, 2008
SUBJECT: STORAGE OF GASOLINE
With the coming of a New Year, safety should be on the top of your New Year's resolutions. What does the storage of gasoline have to do with communications? Well, by keeping your house from burning down may keep your communications on line. So the question is, where do you keep your gasoline stored? Is it in an approved gas can? Is the storage area in a safe place, or in a building that is prone to flooding? During a flood in the Parkersburg area in early July, 1996 this problem raised some concern. The flood water was only part of the problem. The major problem became apparent when a building in which a person kept his gasoline stored became flooded. When the water reached a certain level in the building, the gasoline can turned over spilling gasoline into the flood waters. Since gasoline is lighter than water the gasoline floated on top of the flood waters. Those same flood waters were entering a neighbor's house next door. Fire departments were called to the neighbor's house after they smelled fumes. The owner was concerned about the fumes, in which he believed might ignite if they reached the hot water tank in the flooded area of his home.
When the Fire Department found the fumes to be gasoline, they began their search. Once located, the five gallon gas can, which had turned over in the flooded-out building, only had about two of the five gallons of gasoline left in it. You may not realize it, but three gallons of gasoline floating on water can spread out and burn as if it were poured on concrete. The point to this is; always store your gasoline in an out building or similar building not prone flooding and where there are NO open flames. NEVER store gasoline in your house or basement. Remember it's not the gasoline that burns; it is the UNSEEN FUMES that burn. If you can smell gasoline fumes, there's a chance they may ignite. Also, the gasoline-air mixture determines how fast it will burn. Just be safe and store gasoline and other flammable substances in an approved container, and a safe place. Protect your home and your ham shack, as well as your neighbor’s home.
(Ideas from Charlie Helmick, W8JZN, written by Duane Jones, N8LDM)
Have a safe and very Merry Christmas from the members of Wood
County Emergency Communications
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County WV
WV ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator