hertsdirect.org Petrol safety

Store and handle fuel safely!

Storing petrol, whether in your garage, shed, business or your home raises acute fire safety risks and may break the law. We are keen to re-stress the need for absolute safety when handling or storing petroleum.

At Petrol Filling Stations

To comply with petroleum licence conditions, only containers of an approved type with a capacity not exceeding 23 litres may be filled-up at petrol filling stations.

In the case of the private motorist, a maximum of 2 metal containers of an approved type, not exceeding 10 litres, or 2 plastic containers of an approved type not exceeding 5 litres, may be kept in a motor vehicle.

Storage in excess of these amounts is subject to licensing requirements - don't take risks and transform your car into a travelling bomb!

Hazards from Petrol

Petrol has enormous potential for harm, resulting in loss of life and property and must be treated with extreme caution.
Ensuring that petrol is kept securely, in correct containers and completely separated from naked lights and smoking materials, electrical equipment, accumulation of rubbish and children will reduce the risks - but not eliminate them all.
Petrol gives off a highly flammable vapour.
When this vapour is mixed with air in certain proportions, a risk of fire or explosion exists. Indeed, as little as 1% of vapour in air can create a flammable atmosphere. Only recently, a man was killed after his garden shed blew-up through accumulated vapour inside. Be careful!!
Petrol vapour is heavier than air and does not disperse easily in still conditions. It tends to sink to the lowest possible level of its surroundings and may accumulate in tanks, cavities, drains, pits or other depressions.
Petrol floats on the surface of water and may, therefore, be carried for long distances from its initial source of spillage along rivers, or sewers, ducts, drains and by groundwater.
Don't overlook your health. Petrol vapour, even when present in the atmosphere at relatively low levels, can have acute and chronic effect if inhaled. In addition, frequent contact with the liquid may pose other health hazards.

Store safely!

Acute fire safety risks arise when petroleum stores are established, especially makeshift stores. It only takes one minor error - such as trying to fill a car with a jerry can and funnel in a private garage, with the vehicle's exhaust still hot - for a serious and potentially catastrophic fire to develop in seconds.

Our advice is simple: DON'T store any fuel, over and above perhaps a 10-litre, purpose-made container kept for emergencies, in a place well away from your house (e.g., in a garden shed or detached garage).

Always make sure that you have swift access to a functioning fire extinguisher if you must keep any spare fuel to hand. Never use water to try and extinguish a petroleum fire! If an accident occurs, the procedure should always be to make sure everyone else is evacuated to safety, call the fire service on 999, and keep well away from any burning fuel or fuel containers.

The Law and storing petrol

If stored within six metres of any building or flammable substance, then petrol must be stored in the fuel tank of an internal combustion engine, or in not more than two 10-litre containers unless special permission has been granted otherwise, in writing, by the licensing authorities.
Petroleum may be stored in purpose-made metal or plastic containers which are:

Reasonably secure against breakage
Constructed such that no liquid or vapour can escape from them
Indelibly and conspicuously marked PETROLEUM SPIRIT on the container, or on an attached metal label

Want more advice? Then call our fire safety experts on either Stevenage 01438-737399, or Watford 01923-471399.