If you pay attention to the warning signs at gas stations, you may have seen a sign on or near the pump telling you to turn off your cell phone or not to use it.
This warning may seem strange to many and may raise questions about why such a warning exists. The answer is that in the 1990s and 2000s, there were unsubstantiated reports of gas station fires due to people’s use of cell phones.
A typical chain email circulated at the time told drivers that a driver “suffered burns and severely damaged his car when the gasoline vapor exploded after being ignited by static electricity from the cell phone he was using.” Of course, this email was never verified.
In fact, there are no reports other than these emails that the fires were caused by phones.
It is possible to start a fire due to static electricity at gas stations. But there is no evidence to say that this is due to cell phones.
According to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, “unclassified static discharge” caused 3 percent of vehicle fires at gas stations between 2004 and 2008. According to the Petroleum Equipment Institute, there were 170 gas station fires caused by static electricity between 1992 and 2006.
But as for the possibility of cell phones causing such fires, there are no recorded incidents despite tens of billions being refueled worldwide each year.
In a 2015 report on gas station fires, the Federal Communications Commission wrote, “The wireless industry has researched the potential of cordless phones to generate sparks that can ignite flammable materials. Studies generally conclude that it is theoretically possible for a spark from a cell phone battery to ignite gas vapor under very precise conditions; but there are no documented cases where wireless phone use has been found to cause a fire or explosion at a gas station,” he says, adding that “scientific testing has not established a dangerous link between cordless phones and fuel vapors.”
According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the idea is likely fueled by signs asking people not to use their cell phones. Even the Mythbusters studied the idea and decided it was a myth.
In short, there are good reasons not to use a phone at gas stations: for example, to avoid distractions. But according to many studies, causing an explosion is not one of them.
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