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LONDON NEWS
The second appeal involved a petrol t"illing station and garage premises which were situated in a small town, through which passed a fairly busy A class road.
The location of the site was soon after a sharp right hand bend in a very narrow part of the main street and consisted of a double fronted showroom (in which were four, 500 gallon underground storage tanks). In front of which were four dispensing pumps fitted with swing arm delivery pipes. Two of the tanks were fitted with off-set fill pipes which protruded at low level through the front of the showroom necessitating the road tanker (which visited the site weekly), to stand in the roadway when the tanks were being filled. Vehicles being re-fuelled had to stand in the roadway. There was a narrow pavement in front of the premises.
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There was no drainage system other than the public surface water drainage system, and the site was such that only complete re-building would appear capable of eradicating the hazards.
A notification of intent to refuse to renew the licence after 31st December 1979 was sent to the previous site owner on 1st September 1976, he was also notified that in the meantime the licence would not be transferred to any other occupant. However, the premises were sold in August 1977 to a person who owned another garage in the same town, at which there were similar problems and this person had also been sent a similar letter of intent in September 1976.
The original owner did not notify this Authority of a change of ownership (as required by his licence), and was subsequently prosecuted, also the new owner did not approach this Authority prior to his purchase of the premises in question. The refusal to transfer/renew the licence was as fo11ows:-
1. Owing to the position of the pumps, vehicles re-fuelling have to stand on the roadway. 2. Owing to the position of the tanks the road tanker has to stand on the roadway. 3. Owing to the position of the premises, in a narrow street, after a sharp bend, vehicles standing on the roadway could create a potential hazard.
4. No drainage system
5. Small tanks necessitating frequent replenishment. 6. Only complete rebuilding would solve the inherent potential hazards and the local Planning
Authority seems unlikely to approve such an application.
7. Knowledge, prior to purchase, of licensing Authority's intentions regarding the premises.
Three months after the appeal was lodged it was heard, and five months later both parties were advised that the appeal had been disallowed for the following reasons.
(At the time of the site inspection a road tanker was at the site making a de 1 i ve ry) .
The licensee has subsequently agreed to make the installation safe to this Authority's satisfaction.
In both cases short term licences (3 month duration) were granted to enable the premises to operate more or less normally until the results of the "ppeals were known.
Flash Fry
The tenant of a flat in Hackney used an empty cooking oil container for keeping petrol in the larder. While he was absent a friend living with him felt the pangs of hunger and used some of the contents of the container to fry some bacon on a gas stove. The rashers were well and truly fried in the fire which ensued; luckily the friend's own bacon was saved. The kitchen was badly damaged.
Four Star chips
An Ilford resident took a can of petrol out of the boot of his car before taking the car into a garage for servicing and put the can in the conservatory. A can of cooking oil was also kept in the conservatory.
The resident's elderly mother regrettably used the the petrol to top up the oil in the pan whilst cooking chips on a gas cooker.
She dropped the can and ran out of the . house when the petrol ignited. The old lady was severely shaken, but otherwise unhurt. The petrol can was destroyed in the blaze which damaged the whole of the ground floor and a part of the upper floor of the dwelling.
Warehouse fire
Nine cylinders of liquefied petroleum were involved in a warehouse fire 1n Hounslow. • The bronze • • . on/off . 1 Vt>. ve ass l emb11es on eight of me ted and allowed gas h . . t e rema1n1ng cylinder the cylinders t 0 escape' on the '. did not melt and th' . assembly e cy11nder expioded. It apPdars that the . been adapted to cy11nders had not present policy aCCord W'th of f't . 1 the supplier's relief valves. pressure and vapour was ignited by the exposed filements. During the ensuing fire the car, workshop windows and roof and garage equipment dama'ged.
Hot Pot
The Brigade was called to a fire in a Silverson mixing machine at extensive licensed industrial premises in Sidcup.
The mixer, containing rubber and 500 gallons of benzine suffered from an ·overheated bearing and it is thought that the bearing temperature (indicated by the colour tempering of the metal) reached the ignition temperature of benzine causing stray benzine vapour to catch fire.
No one was hurt and only minor damage was suffered.
Lost Production
An i tern in Volume 17 No. 1 gave information on a leak of petroleum spirit from fractured pipe lines at a Dagenham factory. Less than three months later one of these lines failed again; this time an estimated 500 gallons leaked into the assembly building. At one point the spirit was leaking into a subway exit under the building. The senior inspector for the district was notified of the incident on a Friday morning and consequently had a hectic week-end clearing the matter up. Conditions in the building were such that the assembly line had to be stopped and the lost production for two shifts. Work on the installation of a new vehicle charging system at the factory has been proceeding at a leisurely pace for some months. Thankfully it is now completed and one hopes that an incident of this kind will not be repeated, at least not at this factory!
Unprotected lead lamp
A mechanic . was quick . enou h t
inJury by rol11ng clear g when 0 escape t pe rol dripped on to an unprotected lead lamp while he was removing drained petrol tank from a small workshop in Mi tcham. a partially car in a The lamp South African enquiry A pipeline beneath the floor of a car assembly plant in South Africa and carrying petrol from a storage tank to the end of the assembly line developed a leak. As a result, the representatives of the London-based insurer of the assembly plant telephoned the Petroleum Branch
The caller was informed that this was a matter for the controlling authority in South Africa. However, he was anxious to know what should be done on the grounds of safety and was advised that it would be both easier and safer to flush and seal off· the line and install another one. At the same time advice was given as to safety measures if it was decided to excavate.
A subsequent telephone call was received saying that a new line and storage tank were being installed. Sticky End An inspector lost his trousers during a visit to the premises of a Bexley paint and equipment firm to inspect progress of work on a new mixing room. While he was talking to the manager the latter was trying to squeeze some 'super glue' out of a tube. When the manager eventually succeded, the glue sprayed onto the inspector's trousers and defied all attempts to clean it off. Xhe inspector is claiming compensation from the firm for the loss of his trousers, but not for the loss of his dignity.
Leak from rail tanker
A train comprising petrol tankers was halted on Old Oak Common sidings when sparks were seen coming from one of the wagons. The train was inspected and staff found a broken spring. As a precautionary measure inspection was continued and petrol was seen leaking from a tielivery pipe on a wagon. The wagon was isolated pending the arrival of a fitter tp check the valves. The senior inspector attending the incident advised against any tampering with the valve before the fitter arrived in case such action exacerbated the danger.
The fitter found no fault with the valves. It would appear that grit or dirt may have prevented the delivery valve closing properly, allowing petrol to pass into the delivery pipe from which petrol leaked through a blanking-off cap. The delivery pipe was drained and re-capped and the wagon proceeded safely on the rails.
Helpful drawings Drainage drawings obtained from a London borough proved useful in establishing the cause of smells of petrol permeating houses in Chingford. At first it was thought that the smells were caused by petrol passing into the drains from a heavily contaminated petroleum interceptor at a petrol filling station some 300 yards away. However, the drainage drawings indicated that the drain run from the interceptor was not routed near the houses but that the surface drainage outside the filling station was. A leaking suction was revealed and no more smells have been reported since it was taken out of use. Ven t Pipe fire Whilst petrol was being transferred from a tank wagon into a storage tank at a filling station in Edgware, petrol vapour issuing from the top of the tank ventilating pipe caught fire following a flash from the ground up the pipe. No obvious cause of ignition could be found in the vicinity of the pipe. However, the flash over seemed to coincide with a vehicle being driven across the forecourt. The fire was put out by forecourt staff using a hand appliance.
Blown lids
A licensed store with a corrugated asbestos roof containing petroleum mixture and other flammable liquids was involved in a fire in Newham. The brick walls of the store contained the fire and the light construction of the roof allowed the fire to vent. The lids of some drums blew off when the contents became affected by the heat of the fire which was extinguished with a water fog jet. The cause of the blaze was not established.
Hondaman hurt
A Southwark resident was burned his face and hands when petrol caught fire whilst he was tinkering with his motor cycle in a lean-to at the rear of his house. Due to a communication problem the inspector had difficulty in explaining that petrol vapour may have been ignited by the gas-fired boiler located in the lean-to instead of a possible electrical fault on the cycle.
The licensee was cautioned for b h reac Welding in spraying room of a licence condi tion relating to the The general foreman of the vehicle cleaning and maintenance of the interceptor. building department of an Enfield 44
motor company soon regretted his action in permitting welding to be undertaken on a vehicle which was temporarily standing in a large spraying room. The room is one of a number used for spraying commercial vehicles and has an unusual underfloor extract system prbtected by metal grilles. Access for cleaning the trunking is limited and the deposits which had been allowed to build up were soon ignited by sparks falling through the grilles from the welder's torch. Quick action with a variety of extinguishers helped to restrict the outbreak to the one room.
Arson about
A licensee's employee was charged and convicted of arson following a fire involving two cars in a basement garage. He was working on repairing a car in the garage contrary to instructions when the car caught fire. Realising that he would be in trouble he set fire to the next car in the attempt to make it appear that a vandal had started a fire involving both cars. The sprinkler system in the garage was activated.
Expensive repair
Four expensive cars were written-off when a fire in a garage workshop behind a West London service station caused the collapse of the roof of the building. The fire started when a fitter was removing the fuel gauge from the tank of the car. Petrol escaped from the tank and was ignited when it came into contact with an unsuitable hand lamp under the car. Two men were taken to hospital, one with minor facial burns and the otfter suffering from shock and smoke inhalation. The occupiers' attention was directed to the Petroleum Spirit (Motor Vehicles, etc) Regulations.
Unlucky for some
A self-service pump nozzle broke whilst a customer was charging the fuel tank of his Ford Granada at a Waltham Forest filling station. A piece of the nozzle fell down the tank fill pipe and it was arranged that the car be left for the piece to be removed. When the customer returned he found that his car had been destroyed by fire which started with an explosion whilst a mechanic was the fill pipe. The cause of ignition was not established. No one was injured. Pumping faul t
A pump at a filling station in the City of London developed a fault after a crane accidentally dropped a heavy load on a site opposite. Tests revealed a leaking suction line and a defective tank ventilating pipe.
Petrol on rail track
The appearance of petrol seeping through the retaining wall of a railway cutting outside Euston Station caused urgent activity one morning. Pumps on a filling station adjacent to the railway cutting were shut down. Soon after shutting down the pumps the seepage of petrol became intermittent. This appeared to indicate a leaking suction line. However, as a precaution the contents of the tank were uplifted by late evening. Subsequent testing of the installation revealed a defective suction line. After two days the seepage of petrol through the retaining wall stopped, but later petrol vapour was noticed at the junction of land drains running along the side of the track and the retaining wall. The drains were also found to be badly contaminated with sludge and oil. Arrangements were made for the drains to be cleaned.
Derailed tankers
Two rail tank wagons containing aviation fuel were derailed when a train of seven wagons was shunted into wrong sidings near Reedham Station, Coulsdon. The draw-off pipe and foot valve assembly of the leading wagon were damaged in the derailment and some 30,000 litres of fuel leaked on to the track. A senior inspector and a district' inspector attended at different times to give advice. One visit was made during the middle of the nieht.
Pump hiccups Electronic pumps recently installed at a filling station adjacent to Heathrow Airport showed a tendency to cut out for no apparent reason. The cause was subsequently traced to the presence of a ground level radar scanner on the opposite side of the road. Suitable screening of the pumps from the scanner seems to have eliminated the problem.
