Can cell phones start a fire at the gas pump?

Bad Kitty!

NO!
This is an urban myth, perpetuated by the internet and foreign news sources.
http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp

Fires at gas pumps are usually ignited by static, not by cell phones (which don't give off static, no matter WHAT some of these cautious folks will tell you!).

Velynne_86

No. I don't know if you've ever seen Mythbusters, but they test all sorts of "urban legend" type things, and this was one of them. They did several tests and NONE of the cell phones at a gas pump proved positive, but when they tried other theories of fires at gas pumps, they found that the reason some have started were more than likely caused by Static and friction from getting in and out of the car repeatably while pumping the gas.

â™¥ due 4/28/09â™¥

NO, mythbusters did a thing on that. Its totaly false.

amandafofanda66

Nope. The Mythbusters proved it wasn't true.

slim

totally false. cell phones use radio waves sent in the air. there is nothing there to spark an ignition. if that was the the case you would have to push your car to the pumps and then push it away. you are more likely to start afire starting your car than using a cell phone.

Charles F

Myth busters dismissed that as a myth. experiments showed it did not blow up in concentrated fumes

LaReinaPerez

i guess its just because of static electricity. i dont know but i thought it was weird when the guy wouldnt pump my gas because i was talking on the phone (i live in OR). But Ive heard its dangerous to get out of your car while pumping gas because static electricity might build and cause a tiny spark and then ignite the gas!! AHHH scary.

Ken E

Almost certainly not. An ordinary CB radio has a transmitter which is dozens of times more powerful than a cell phone and there was never any talk of them starting fuel fires. More than likely what starts a cell phone associated fire is someone jumping in and out of a car to grab a ringing phone. As they get out, they create the usual static charge which ignites the fuel.

butch

i can see quite a few of us watch mythbusters

Dennis B

If my memory serves me right, that was debunked on the MythBusters show, with Adam and Jaime. Not True, can't happen. However, there must be some creditability to it, or they wouldn't take the time and trouble to post all those warnings at each and every gas station pump.

The Mr. Pine

Its called static electricity. The odds are less than getting struck by lightning but it has happen before.

â˜† iSparkle â˜†

i've never heard of that....but then again anything could start fire if used inapproriatly.

izzie

I would not like to be the first to find out

logicalgal

Well, my answer is ....why would you hold up a lineup of cars while pumping gas and chatting on the cell phone anyway. You might forget and put more gas in than you have $$$ in your wallet. You might forget to replace your gas cap. Any you just might do yourself and others harm if this DOES happen to you by some strange unknown reason. To me, if you don't completely understand something, then don't mess with it. The laws of nature and physics wreak havoc with us humans. I say stay off the phone ,do your business at the gas station, then leave and use the cell phone all you want.

Lively

I used to work for a cell phone manufacturer. Technically it could happen but it's highly unlikely, as in, about as likely as a bolt of lightning starting a fire while you're at the gas pump.

Static cling could also technically start a fire at the gas pump if all the conditions are right, but again, probably not terribly likely to happen.

Good luck to you.

*Jenn*

no they proved it on mythbusters that it cant

Matthew G

I'm not too sure about those issues but I know of cases where a cell phone being charged, the battery exploded/caught fire and caused fire/smoke damage to the house

HouAnswerGuy

Some have been known to...remember with gas it is the fumes that ignite not the fluid....even static has been known to start gas fires at pump.

Isaac v

i work at a gas plant facility we used intrinsically safe two way radios in other words explosion proof.cell phones are not intrisically safe devices.therefore they should not be used when pumping gas.the car should be on the off position radio off.
anything can set up an explosion anything static as sample as kicking rocks and creating a spark.gas stations are the least safe places to be they are not to be taken for granted hose tare people over fill there gas tanks.and people sometimes drive off with there hoses still attached to there vehicle.by the way i seen this happen before, anyway be safe turn your cell phone off

Robby R

50% chance. If you are holding the pump handle while answering or dialing. cell phones can cause emi.. and emi can cause static.. and static is a source of ignition.. And fumes from the gas is the fuel. So as you dial out or answer your phone you are charging yourself with static pretty much..

so lets say you pick up the pump right as someone calls you.. and you answer it and charge up with a bunch of static..then you insert the nozzle into your tank...and as you do it you get a little arc from the tip off the nozzle and the down spout of the tank.. hopefully this doesnt happen.. but its possible..

CAT

Yes..read the pump. Static sparks.

WEE MAN

Jiang

yes, the show brainiac proved it