Thai Energy Office warns motorists of danger of mobile phone use at petrol stations

[mercman24]

totally agree, dont use ya phone in a petrol station, but its ok to ride against traffic on a road, not wearing a helmet and one hand on the handlebars and the other holding the phone stuck to your ear, yep sounds good advice to me.

[HLover]

totally agree, dont use ya phone in a petrol station, but its ok to ride against traffic on a road, not wearing a helmet and one hand on the handlebars and the other holding the phone stuck to your ear, yep sounds good advice to me.

Spoken like a true scholar.

[DM07]

I call BS on this!

Mythbusters

The article says that the phone was connected to a powerbank - rendering this video as counter proof obsolete.

BS!

The PHONE can not spark a fire like that and that is, what the video proves!

It may be the powerbank or the hot engine or a static discharge...but as sure as the sun rises in the morning, it was not the phone!

[gandalf12]

I'm skeptical of the purported cause of the fire.

Working in the Petrochemical industry. Static . Dropping the. Phone causing sparks. Not concentrating on what you are doing while on a phone. The list goes. On ..

The UHF radios on site are generally in the 450MHz band which is a lot lower than GSM at a minimum of 800MHz

[Thian]

^{Static electricity is a beast that is hard to tame. Cell phones causing the fire has been proven false. If cell phones were the cause of gas pump fires, there would be fires daily. Higher humidity tends to keep static at bay but not 100%.}

Static electricity can easy be stopped by connecting a grounded cable to the vehicle before filling it up.

And what about copycopy cellphones like they sell in Thailand? Or repaired ones by Somchai the handyman?

[Alwyn]

Nah, doesn't happen. The real reason people are asked not to use their mobiles in fuel stations is that there is a possibility it might interfere with the wireless signal that goes from the pump to the kiosk showing fuel taken and cost of fuel taken. Nothing else.

[NoshowJones]

Bad luck day for customer. Quick act by brave staff!

I have seen number of people using mobile at gas station while filling the gas, some taxis even make us sit inside car while refilling LPG . Have to be careful and watchful.

some taxis even make us sit inside car while refilling LPG

and was the meter running? OH, I forgot, taxis don't use meters here.

[jaiyen]

Now they are aware of possible fire from phones (which has been proved impossible) perhaps they will try to stop them smoking near the pumps or in the car. Have seen it several times.

[majhiggins]

The radio signal itself couldn't cause the fire. That urban legend was debunked 10-15 years ago. Hinkey batteries have been known to catch on fire in phones but to cause a gasoline fire the phone would have to be in a confined space saturated with fumes, like inside the motorbike. This is just an amazing confluence of circumstances that has caused a scare about a nearly non-existent risk being flagged as a serious problem as a guise to make some government department seem proactive about safety. Thais, particularly in the hot weather, seldom turn off their engines while refueling since it means loss of A/C and music. A running engine is a heck of a lot more potential risk for starting a fire. Unless you are surrounded by clouds of gas fumes so strong your eyes are running, you are not in a concentration strong enough to ignite. Also, while the spark and flame from a lighter can cause sufficiently high gas fume concentrations to ignite, the ember on a cigar or cigarette cannot light gasoline. You can put out burning cigarettes in a bucket of gasoline all day with no fire. That urban myth of lighting gas with a cigarette ember is alive and well thanks to movies and TV.

[Wonka]

The fire starts ~25 cm in front of the filling stud. It takes four video frames (at 30 frames per second) to reach the filling stud. There is no explosion caused by phone.

The pump operator has been looking at the pump display for 2-3 seconds, supposedly in order to stop the pump at a round amount.

But the petrol overruns the edge of the filling stud, and runs down and hits electric parts. Could be twisted wires, Could be charging plug.

So the fire is caused by carelessness from the pump operator, not by an incoming phone call.

Could also be caused by an incidentally exploding phone battery. This is unlikely, as the size of flames in later frames shows.

[Nobb]

Good warning but how about scooter drivers and car driver using mobile which is very common in Thailand!

[Mot Dang]

Rushed to get the fire extinguisher ! Your joking, take another look. He took far too long. And the time he took to read the label tells me he had very little training. He then took to the small fire on the tarmac, not the fuel tank. He can thank his lucky stars that the fire didn't blow back into the open tank. And where did the owner go ?

[Rorri]

There has never been any PROOF that mobile phones have been the cause of a fire, at gas stations, it is purely a myth, perpetrated even more by those stupid signs at gas stations.

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/wireless-devices-gas-stations

Knowing there are so many "experts" with their own, unproven theories, I await replies, but show show PROOF, not what is conjured up in your own mind.

[Rorri]

Nah, doesn't happen. The real reason people are asked not to use their mobiles in fuel stations is that there is a possibility it might interfere with the wireless signal that goes from the pump to the kiosk showing fuel taken and cost of fuel taken. Nothing else.

What wireless system, they're cabled.

[Pepper1959]

How about training Thais, to turn off their engines when filling up, placing containers on the ground when filling to get an earth instead of leaving them in their pick ups and not smoking, all the common behaviours expected of me before coming here. Right or wrong, safety is just too lax here and people laugh on this site, make sarcastic comments to big note themselves but it is easy to do so when it does not happen to you. Just look at the poor souls a few days ago with the gas situation in the shopping mall. All too easy with safety in this country and all to easy for people to try and get a cheap shot at other people's expense.

[Lokie]

On one of my first visits to Thailand had a driver taking me around all day, we pulled up in a gas station, me and my friend sat in rear of vehicle, the driver has got out and while the young gas attendant is filling the gas, the driver is leaning against the front wing smoking a cigarette and chatting to the attendant, I thought, Mmm thats a bit dodgy, I then ran my gaze across from the first set of pumps on the island to the second set of pumps and in between was stored Calor gas bottles for sale/rent, Thats when I thought Oh $ hi t we are not in Kansas anymore....

[Rorri]

On one of my first visits to Thailand had a driver taking me around all day, we pulled up in a gas station, me and my friend sat in rear of vehicle, the driver has got out and while the young gas attendant is filling the gas, the driver is leaning against the front wing smoking a cigarette and chatting to the attendant, I thought, Mmm thats a bit dodgy, I then ran my gaze across from the first set of pumps on the island to the second set of pumps and in between was stored Calor gas bottles for sale/rent, Thats when I thought Oh $ hi t we are not in Kansas anymore....

Another myth, there is NO proof, to show a cigarette will ignite gasoline, petrol to us more advanced Aussies.

[Alwyn]

Nah, doesn't happen. The real reason people are asked not to use their mobiles in fuel stations is that there is a possibility it might interfere with the wireless signal that goes from the pump to the kiosk showing fuel taken and cost of fuel taken. Nothing else.

What wireless system, they're cabled.

If the garage is pre-war maybe!

[Rorri]

Nah, doesn't happen. The real reason people are asked not to use their mobiles in fuel stations is that there is a possibility it might interfere with the wireless signal that goes from the pump to the kiosk showing fuel taken and cost of fuel taken. Nothing else.

What wireless system, they're cabled.

If the garage is pre-war maybe!

show me one, oh wise one, a search shows nothing for wireless bowsers (pumps).

Oh, and just which "war" would you be referring to?

Edited March 18, 2016 by Rorri

[cumgranosalum]

Nah, doesn't happen. The real reason people are asked not to use their mobiles in fuel stations is that there is a possibility it might interfere with the wireless signal that goes from the pump to the kiosk showing fuel taken and cost of fuel taken. Nothing else.

What wireless system, they're cabled.

there are various systems for communicating with the fuel dispenser and POS....and now pay at pump....including wireless

when forecourts started to be digitalised it was feared that the "new" mobile phone transmissions might interfere with the computers at either end....as a concern, this has since been sidelined. however the urban myth of ophones exploding fuel at the dispensers has proved more difficult to allay.

[cumgranosalum]

For a start it would be nice if PTT (and probably others) trained their staff about this. Several times I've had to prevent some to use their phone while filling my tank...

bet you get some funny looks of those people who know that it's a myth....

[Rorri]

Nah, doesn't happen. The real reason people are asked not to use their mobiles in fuel stations is that there is a possibility it might interfere with the wireless signal that goes from the pump to the kiosk showing fuel taken and cost of fuel taken. Nothing else.

What wireless system, they're cabled.

there are various systems for communicating with the fuel dispenser and POS....and now pay at pump....including wireless

when forecourts started to be digitalised it was feared that the "new" mobile phone transmissions might interfere with the computers at either end....as a concern, this has since been sidelined. however the urban myth of ophones exploding fuel at the dispensers has proved more difficult to allay.

show me a wireless one, if your can't then why reply, your words are useless. Has anyone seen a bowser with and antennae?

[Wilsonandson]

This video is very interesting and is the probable cause of the accident at the petrol station. When charging the power bank makes a noise like a mobile phone ringing.

This is a consumer information video warning about the fire risks from dodgy power banks.

[Wilsonandson]

Stealing Thai Visa's news?

Check this site out-

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/03/video-mobile-phone-apparently-causes-fire-at-thai-petrol-station/

[The Deerhunter]

The power bank is a lithium ion device

They can catch fire which cost Boeing millions an is why you cannot pack LI batteries in your check in, only carry-on. Perhaps it simply caught on fire. It was being used as charging device at the time.

[Lokie]

On one of my first visits to Thailand had a driver taking me around all day, we pulled up in a gas station, me and my friend sat in rear of vehicle, the driver has got out and while the young gas attendant is filling the gas, the driver is leaning against the front wing smoking a cigarette and chatting to the attendant, I thought, Mmm thats a bit dodgy, I then ran my gaze across from the first set of pumps on the island to the second set of pumps and in between was stored Calor gas bottles for sale/rent, Thats when I thought Oh $ hi t we are not in Kansas anymore....

Another myth, there is NO proof, to show a cigarette will ignite gasoline, petrol to us more advanced Aussies.

Really, and I thought it was the vapours that ignite to cause explosion of fire, advanced Aussie - Bush fires anyone..?. could explain a few things

The guy lit the Tab with a lighter, and having portable gas bottles next to petrol pumps ain't too smart, even for an advanced antipodean like you (by the way, I'm a POM E, Manchester, England but that would be bedding to you Bruce lol) and thats another thing, first trip to Oz, was in Scarborough beach, Perth, drives into a Petrol station and it was a drive through Bottle Shop... W T F??? ha ha ha... bloody great idea though!

[coulson]

Mythbusters could be dismissed as interesting TV .. But I'm sure it has been independently proven that telephones can't cause an explosion. No more than static electricity or sparks from metal protectors on the soles of your boots.

Sounds like a cheap Chinese power bank that carries a hell of a lot of current.

Beat me to it, saw the mythbusters episode. If it was the phone it could well have been a dodgy over heated battery about to pop.

[Rorri]

On one of my first visits to Thailand had a driver taking me around all day, we pulled up in a gas station, me and my friend sat in rear of vehicle, the driver has got out and while the young gas attendant is filling the gas, the driver is leaning against the front wing smoking a cigarette and chatting to the attendant, I thought, Mmm thats a bit dodgy, I then ran my gaze across from the first set of pumps on the island to the second set of pumps and in between was stored Calor gas bottles for sale/rent, Thats when I thought Oh $ hi t we are not in Kansas anymore....

Another myth, there is NO proof, to show a cigarette will ignite gasoline, petrol to us more advanced Aussies.

Really, and I thought it was the vapours that ignite to cause explosion of fire, advanced Aussie - Bush fires anyone..?. could explain a few things

The guy lit the Tab with a lighter, and having portable gas bottles next to petrol pumps ain't too smart, even for an advanced antipodean like you (by the way, I'm a POM E, Manchester, England but that would be bedding to you Bruce lol) and thats another thing, first trip to Oz, was in Scarborough beach, Perth, drives into a Petrol station and it was a drive through Bottle Shop... W T F??? ha ha ha... bloody great idea though!

I didn't think I'd have to explain that it is the vapor/fumes that ignites, you are just being pedantic, as most readers would understand my point, grow up, far too many pedantic fools on here.

Now, there was NOTHING in your post that mentioned the "guy" lighting his "tab", this now comes across as if you are making up a story to justify your comment.

[attrayant]

I'm pleased to see a healthy dose of skepticism among the responses.

It seems like some gasoline escaped....then ignited...having come in contact with a hot part.

Gasoline has an autoignition temperature of 280°C, and diesel's is 256°C. Does anything on a motorbike get that hot?

[Artisi]

Two things stick out like the proverbial dogs bullocks, 1. bullsh1t about phones causing sparks to ignite petrol fumes and the other is - 2. apparently the fire extinguisher was charged, worked and someone knew what to do with it.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Artisi