Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Samantha Hayes Reporting At the end of the day do you ever wish you had the chance to do things differently?
That's what one man may be thinking. He had a lapse of judgement that damaged his car and endangered his life.
We get rushed. We think maybe it doesn't matter. Or maybe it just won't happen this time. But when a man decided to fill up spare gas tanks in the back of his truck while they were in his truck, he inadvertently started a huge fire.
We do it so often. It seems completely safe. But nearly a thousand times a year, all over the country, something like this happens.
Ron Perry/ Vehicle damaged: "It was huge... twenty to thirty feet high when it was going."
Ron Perry's motor home was damaged when another man filled up spare gas tanks in the back of his vehicle. Static electricity sparked a fire that also burnt the canopy overhead.
Ron Perry: "So I got into the motor home and high tailed it out of there."
Nobody was hurt.
Tad Norris/ Sandy Fire Dept.: "Be safe. The warning signs on the pump are there for a reason. Follow them."
A few years ago a man's clothes caught on fire at a Texas gas station. He had also been filling gas cans in the bed of his truck. He survived, but suffered third degree burns.
A fire at a Springville gas station in 2002 was caused by the driver getting in and out of her vehicle more than once, building up static electricity.
Travis Hanberg: "The first thing when you pull up, turn off the car. Make sure it's turned off and leave a cell phone or any other electrical devices in the car."
Fireman Travis Hanberg says stay out of the car while pumping gas, and if a fire is sparked..
"Your first instinct to pull the nozzle out of the car. That's the worst thing you can do. Leave it there. That will contain the fire to that area. Step away from the vehicle."
So , of course, always take gas cans out of the car when filling them up.
1. when you pull up to the gas station..turn off the engine.
2. don't smoke
3. never use cellphones or other electrical devices.
4. never reenter the vehicle for any reason.
