It’s cold outside! Really cold! But, there is a good reason to stand guard at the fuel pump the next time you have to fill your car at the gas station. It’s called static-related fire.
We have all had experiences with static electricity. For example, when a dryer sheet sticks to our favorite blanket out of the warm dryer and makes those tiny sparks as we try to separate them. The same principle occurs when we are entering or exiting our driver seats. We tend to slide across the seat and generate static. When we return to the pump, a single spark generated by the static electricity can trigger a disaster and ignite the gasoline vapors near the fuel dispenser, causing a flash fire.
Reduce static problems at the pump by staying outside your car as you fuel up, especially during cold, dry weather. Always discharge your “static” before fueling, too, by touching something metal with your bare hand before touching the pump.
