New APEAMembers

concerned about the state of the place." But after hearing that most of the 20 issues raised by enforcement officers after a visit last October had since been addressed, the council agreed to renew the filling station's licence to store fuel.

But they have done so for a threemonth period only.

Blackpool Council's public protection subcommittee also called for the pumps to be replaced and ordered the owners of the petrol station back before them on May 7 to ensure the outstanding issues had been resolved. Chairman of public protection, Coun Henry Mitchell, said his priority was to ensure the safety of the public. He said: "I was concerned about the state of the place. "If you are dealing with petrol, you are dealing with people's lives. The outstanding issues must still be put right otherwise they will be shut down. "I am now calling for all garages to be looked at as a priority to ensure this is not happening at other outlets." Mustak Adam, who has owned Corton Beach filling station for the past five years, said he had invested £25,000 in the premises already and had now ordered a new set of petrol pumps at a cost of £30,000. In addition he said that Esso was planning to invest another £40,000 in a general revamp of the site. Mr Adam said: "Everything has been done that was asked of us by the health and safety officers and I have ordered new pumps. "We employ seven or eight people so it is important we keep trading. "I think in the next two to three months this site will look very different." Anyone selling fuel on a commercial basis must be licensed annually by the council. Until recently, inspections were carried out after the new licence was granted but now they will be done before the licence is agreed.

UK, Man suffers burns as his bonfire sets light to shed

June 2009 - A man suffered burns to his face after putting petrol on a bonfire in a wheelbarrow in the back garden of his Newton Abbot home.

Up to 11 firefighters were called to Twickenham Road after the abandoned bonfire spread to a summer house, shed and trees.

Officers were forced to throw a cordon around the area after discovering gas cylinders were also involved in the fire.

Incident commander Scott Leaman, based at Newton Abbot fire station, warned accelerants should never be used on bonfires. "The man was very lucky, it could have been a lot worse", he said.

The man, who has not been named, refused to comment.

The alarm was raised by neighbours after flames were seen billowing from the back garden.

The man had sustained the burns when his petrol can went up in flames.

The blaze then took hold in the garden shed and summer house while the couple were at Torbay Hospital where the man was being treated for his injuries.

Both left the house believing they had doused the flames.

Neighbour Eric Beer, 79, was letting his dog out when he saw the flames. "They were roaring up," he said. "When I went back in another neighbour was out the front. "He said he had called the fire brigade. I didn't realise they were not in, otherwise I would have called 999 myself. "There were two fire engines outside. I stayed up and was relieved when I saw their van outside later on."

On-scene firefighters quickly established there were four propane, five butane and one compressed air diving cylinder near the fire.

Fearing an explosion, they threw up a 200-metre cordon and told neighbours peering over their garden hedges and walls to keep away.

Mr Leaman said: "We advised people to go to the front of their homes for safety reasons. "We set up a ground monitor hose to put out the flames and crews withdrew to a safe distance. "Fortunately the safety valves on the cylinders did their job. "Only one exploded and that was the air diving cylinder."

C r e w s remained on the scene until 1am, he said.

He added: "In the closing stages of the incident the home owner and his wife returned and were horrified by what had happened. "He had been having a small bonfire in a wheelbarrow and applied petrol to the fire before putting the can down. "He picked it up and, as he turned around, the can ignited and went up in a fireball. "He sustained nasty burns to his face and hands. "They thought the flames had gone out and went to Torbay Hospital to treat him. He had a cooling gel applied on the burns."

The man revisited the hospital, Mr Leaman said.

He added: "He was very lucky. "Our advice is always the same: never use an accelerant on a fire. "It is the vapour from petrol which ignites. "Here, vapour was pouring out from the can and it found the naked flame."

UK, A48 Incident

May 2009 - The A48 reopened following a serious fire at Chaxhill Garage. Traffic was flowing freely although there were slight delays close to the garage itself.

Firefighters are now keeping a watching brief on the site.

The blaze affected the shop, garage and workshop, which were severely alight when the service arrived.

Two crews from Cinderford and two from Gloucester attended as well as the aerial appliance and the water carrier. Two crews remained on the scene.

Firefighters discovered an acetylene (gas) cylinder in the workshop, and their efforts were concentrated on cooling the cylinder.

The A48 was closed off between Elton Corner and Chaxhill and nearby residents were evacuated

as a precaution.

Thirty-five people living at a nearby residential home were taken to Minsterworth Village Hall where volunteers from the WRVS were on hand to help.

Temporary accommodation was found.

The road remained closed for a considerable time, between 12 and 24 hours, as crews remained on the scene cooling the cylinder.

Drivers were advised to avoid the A48 entirely and use the A40 to get in and out of the Forest. Diversions inside the cordon area were along Goose Lane, Rodley Road and Stantway Lane.

Incident commander Derek Cross said: “We are now in a holding position as the fire is under control, but we will remain on the scene for some time.

“We have been cooling the acetylene cylinder for several hours, but we will need to continue doing this for anything between 12 and 24 hours.

“This is just a precaution, but we are not able to re-open the road or allow the residents back into their homes until we are sure that it is safe.”

UK, Shell fined record sum for fire safety breaches

Oil giant Shell International Limited has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £45,000 in costs after pleading guilty to three breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005 in England and Wales –the largest fine imposed under the legislation to date.

London Fire Brigade prosecuted Shell following two small fires in the space of three weeks at its office complex in Central London. In the first incident, on 19 December 2006, 40 people evacuated the building and some 20 fire-fighters attended. In the second incident, on 5 January 2007, cutting equipment set fire to insulation material.

An inspection carried out by the Brigade in January 2007 identified extensive breaches, including blocked escape routes and Fire Exits, defective Fire Doors and excessive Fire Loading. The Fire Loading had been dramatically increased because of refurbishments taking place on upper floors.

The Brigade served a Prohibition Notice on the Company, restricting public and staff access to the Shell Tower and Basement Levels of the complex. The Notice was lifted three days later after the company remedied the fire safety failings.

It also found that Shell’s fire risk assessment for the site had not been reviewed or updated since March 2003.

In mitigation, Shell apologised for the shortcomings and said it had taken action to put things right. An independent review of fire safety plans and the condition of the building had also been carried out, it said.

UK, Wiltshire. Police staggered after man tries to torch petrol station

An explosion at a petrol station was narrowly averted by quickacting police officers in Warminster after a pump containing gallons of unleaded fuel was set alight. Police were called to the Esso Garage in East Street by a dog walker who saw the fire being started. Warminster inspector Dave Minty called it one of the most reckless acts he has ever seen and said the potential results could have been devastating. Only the actions of police officers, including Andy Lee, who were first on the scene and put the small fire out, prevented a tragedy.

Insp Minty said: “You don‘t need to be a brain surgeon to realise the damage it could have caused. “They were very lucky that we got there as soon as we did. It clearly could have been considerably worse than what happened. “It has got to be one of the most reckless acts I have seen and it doesn‘t take a genius to work out that if it had gone up in flames the impact on the local community would have been huge.”

A spokesman for Esso confirmed the incident had taken place and said: “The police attended the scene just as an Esso sales assistant was reporting for duty.” Following the correct procedure for any incident at the site, she immediately alerted her manager, who went to the site as soon as possible. The pump, which has a burnt nozzle, has been sealed off to the public while the garage waits for contractors to fix it.

Warminster firefighters were called to the scene later to carry out a health and safety check. Warminster retained fire station manager Chris Trimby said: ”It was a flammable liquid, the most flammable in fact, and had their been a fire there it would have been devastating. “It would probably have closed the station and the surrounding areas for several hours, I would have thought. “I would have hoped that it would have been confined to the forecourt area but obviously there are safety precautions that would have to be carried out.”

Neighbour Michael Porteous, of East End Avenue, said: “I did hear some noise over there. There was quite a lot of people around as well. “I think it‘s quite scary but the question is, what security measures can they put in now to stop it happening again?” Tom Howlett, 17, of East End Avenue, added: “It would have been really bad, especially as we live so close to the petrol station. It‘s good the police managed to get there in time to stop it getting dangerous.” Simon White, 24, of George Street, Warminster, has been charged with arson. He has been released on conditional bail following an initial hearing at Chippenham Magistrates‘ Court. He will next appear at Swindon Crown Court on July 10.

UK, County Durham. Motorist killed in pileup due to thick fog

June - Fire fighters attending the accident described a scene of "absolute devastation". It is believed the first tanker braked in the dense mist and the car was shunted into the back of it by another tanker following behind, leaving the driver of the car fatally injured. With the car wedged between the tankers, one of which was leaking, paramedics and fire crews initially struggled to get close to the victim. Durham Police said the incident began with a collision on the southbound carriageway of the A19, near Peterlee, shortly before 10.15pm. As police were dealing with the incident on the southbound carriageway a second series of collisions involving a further 18 vehicles took place on the northbound carriageway. A third crash then took place on the Wellfield slip road involving three vehicles, one of which was a Vauxhall Astra police car involved in directing traffic. A police

APEA tel/fax 0845 603 5507 www.apea.org.uk 17

spokesman said there were not thought to be any casualties from these two subsequent incidents. He said: "Thick fog on the east coast is thought to have been a contributory factor in what happened and police are urging drivers to avoid the area." The spokesman said the officers on the scene reported that "too many motorists are failing to take heed of the conditions and are simply going too fast."

Fire fighters were quickly on the scene as crews at nearby Peterlee Fire Station heard the initial impacts. Dave Turnbull, the fire officer in charge, told BBC Radio Newcastle: "My crews heard a series of loud bangs. "When they responded they found absolute devastation on the flyover adjacent to the fire station –20 to 30 cars, a large number of HGVs, a petrol tanker and a large number of people trapped."

The North East Ambulance Service said a man, aged 47, suffered abdominal and shoulder injuries, while a 50-year-old man sustained head injuries. They were taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital, along with two other men in their late teens and two women with two children, who all suffered minor injuries. Two men aged 25 and 27 were taken to North Tees General Hospital with back and neck injuries. Mr Turnbull, the on-call Group Manager for Durham and Darlington Fire Service, said: "It could have been a lot worse. When you have a scene like that, with so many vehicles involved, it's surprising more people weren't seriously hurt." The A19 was closed in both directions and is likely to remain closed for some time, police said. Officers from Durham are working with colleagues from Northumbria and Cleveland Police to investigate the series of crashes. Fire fighters were initially most concerned about an apparent leak from one of the tankers. A foam blanket was put down as a precaution but crews, with the help of the tanker drivers, soon realised the leak was from a short stretch of damaged pipe and amounted to only about 25 litres of fuel.

The officers said the crews had to cut away a 20m section of the central barrier of the dual carriageway so vehicles could be pulled away from the crush around the tankers. He said the cars and lorries had collided in a "concertina effect". Mr Turnbull said more than 50 fire fighters were called to the scene, along with a series of specialist appliances. An operation to decant 60,000 litres of fuel from the two stricken tankers was mounted following the accident. The officers said this stretch of the A19 was notoriously prone to poor visibility caused by fog rolling in from the sea.

UK, Shell opens it largest forecourt

Shell’s largest UK Service Station recently opened at the new motorway services on the M40 at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, UK. With capacity to serve several hundred customers an hour and underground storage for 1.2mn litres of fuel, Shell Beaconsfield is reportedly the largest service station both in the Shell network and the UK overall.

The site has 36 forecourt pumps and 6 dedicated high-speed HGV Pumps totalling 152 nozzles. It forms part of the latest “Extra” motorway services facilities, which have been 16 years in the making and created 200 new jobs for people in the local area. The Service Station has been built with eco-friendly considerations, including the replanting of trees, waste reclaim units and foul water waste management and boasts a manmade lake, hotel complex and summer picnic area. Customers can expect to find outlets such as Starbucks, Marks & Spencer, WH Smith, McDonalds and the hotel Etap.

Greece, Athens. BP sells Greek assets to Hellenic Petroleum for US$500 million

June - Hellenic Petroleum Greece's biggest refiner, is set to bolster its leadership in the country's retail market after agreeing to buy petrol and storage assets from BP Plc for 359 million euros ($500 million). The deal, which includes net debt of 40 million euros, gives Hellenic control over BP's 1,200 gas stations and oil storage facilities with a capacity of 170,000 cubic metres. This would create a clear market leader in the fragmented retail fuel market, which consists of 21 companies, with none having a market share above 20 percent, according to figures by research institute IOVE.

Hellenic chairman Efthymios Christodoulou said the deal would also generate significant synergies. "We have already secured financing through a bank loan," another company official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Hellenic's EKO unit is already market leader in Greece with a network of about 1,230 gas stations representing about 17 percent of the Greek market. Greece's overcrowded fuel retail market is heading for further consolidation. Royal Dutch Shell which controls about 13 percent, is also considering selling its gas station network in the country.

Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil Greece's second-biggest refiner, both expressed interest in Shell's assets last month. "After the BP deal, we're no longer interested in Shell," the Hellenic Petrol official said. Under the deal with Hellenic, none of BP's about 400 workers in Greece will lose their jobs. BP will keep control of its jet fuel, lubricants and solar energy activities in the country. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and other conditions, is expected to be completed toward the end of the year, BP said in a separate statement.

Bahrain, Manama. Bapco to privatise 16 petrol stations

Bapco's 16 petrol stations are to be privatised next year, Bahrain's Oil Minister has said. A joint stock company will be set up by the middle of next year as part of the programme, said Oil Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority chairman Dr Abdulhussain Mirza. 'It will be listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange, and eventually offer shares to the public,' he told newspaper Gulf Daily News. 'The decision has been taken by the authority's board according to a study carried out by international consultancy firm, CRA. 'The study focused on assigning the management of the petrol stations to the new company.' CRA will also carry out the second stage of the study on the project capitalisation, he said. The privatisation is in line with Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030, he said. 'The Vision document calls for the private sector to take up a more active role in running vital projects.' There are 40 petrol stations of which 24 are owned by private businesses. 'However, Bapco supplies them with fuel and

18 APEA tel/fax 0845 603 5507 www.apea.org.uk

Bangladesh, Dhaka. 8 vehicles burnt as filling station catches fire

A devastating fire swept through a city refuelling station, burning at least eight vehicles including an octaneladen lorry and injuring two people. The flames that rose up to 200 feet in the sky created severe panic among the commuters and eventually caused huge traffic congestion in the area. Reports of traffic jam came from Mohakhali and airport road when the report was being filed.

Eleven units of firefighters fought for around one and a half hours in life risk and doused the flames, which could be seen from distant localities. Refuelling station Amam Enterprise on Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani near Mohakhali interdistrict bus terminal caught fire around 5:00pm when the octaneladen lorry was unloading fuel to the underground reserved tank. The cause of the fire could not be known immediately as the lorry driver fled the scene.

Eyewitness Zobayer Hossain, manager of the station, told The Daily Star, "When octane was being unloaded from the lorry, I suddenly saw a fire in the pipeline and within seconds it engulfed the lorry." He said the lorry was loaded with 9,000 litres of octane, while there were 8,000 litres of diesel and around 3,000 litres of octane in the reserved tank.

Another witness Meer Akbar Hossain, owner of affected Akbar Motors-Workshops, said, "When the fire started someone drove the lorry away from the reserved tank. Fuel was still spewing from the lorry which spread in the area as the vehicle moved." "As the lorry was quickly driven away, the leaked fuel mainly fell on the road and flowed towards the slope," he added. "The burning fuel flowed through Satata Automobiles and Akbar Motors Workshop burning all the seven parked vehicles and other materials." Fire Service Deputy Director Abdur Rashid suspects the fire might have been originated from burning cigarette end. He said, "If the lorry was not driven away from the reserved tank, a huge explosion might have occurred causing a severer catastrophe in the area."

The witnesses said the firefighters fought hard to douse the flames in high risk as the octane-laden lorry could have exploded anytime. Fire service sources said they used fireextinguishing foam so that the flames could not spread. Four other refuelling stations and automobile centres in the area were shut down, while vehicular movement on the road from Mohakhali to Rainbow Crossing was halted completely.

As the road remained blocked, a severe traffic jam was created surrounding the roads till 7:00pm. Moreover, thousands of curious people thronged the area hindering the activities of the firefighters. Several hundred personnel from Rab and police had to struggle hard to control the curious people. Among the injured two, condition of Lokman, who was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, was stated to be critical, while the other could not be traced.

Australia, Sydney. ExxonMobil to ditch 800 petrol stations

ExxonMobil has placed its portfolio of 800 petrol stations on the market in a $500 million deal that would see the fuel giant leave the local petrol retailing market, according to The Australian Financial Review. The US based company has held talks with several interested parties, several of which have sought clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and it is believed that the list of buyers has been cut down to a small number in recent weeks. The newspaper said it was not thought that ExxonMobil's sale would include Mobil's fuel refineries.

It is understood that ExxonMobil is running the sale process itself without external advisers. In late April, ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded company, posted a 58 per cent drop in quarterly profit, missing Wall Street estimates, as the global recession sliced into demand for crude oil and depressed prices. Exxon and other energy companies have seen oil and gas prices fall sharply from peaks last summer as consumption wanes and supplies swell. Crude oil in the first quarter averaged just over $US43 per barrel, down 56 per cent from the same quarter a year before, while the average price of natural gas in the United States slid 44 per cent. Still Exxon, unlike other peers that have cut budgets or delayed big projects, is still spending more on oil and gas development. Exxon spent $US5.8 billion on exploration and development in the first quarter, up 5 per cent from a year earlier. "In spite of the dramatic changes to the global economic environment, Exxon Mobil is maintaining its longterm focus and disciplined approach to capital investment," Rex Tillerson, Exxon's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. Net profit in the firstquarter was $US4.55 billion, or 92 cents per share, compared with $US10.89 billion, or $US2.02 per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts on average had Exxon to report a profit of 95 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Oil and gas production in the quarter rose slightly from a year ago to 4.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, in line with analysts' projections. Upstream earnings slid 60 per cent to $US3.5 billion, while profit at the company's refining and marketing fell three per cent to $US1.13 billion.

Finland, Helsinki. Finnish retailer ST1 buys 198 Statoil stations

April 2009 - Finnish fuel retailer St1 Oy confirmed that it had agreed to buy 198 unmanned filling stations in Sweden and Norway from Norwegian oil and gas producer StatoilHydro The deal, whose value was not revealed, envisages St1 purchasing 158 fuel distribution stations in Sweden, including 118 Hydro/Uno-X brand stations and 40 Jet-brand stations, as well as a further 40 Jet stations in Norway. "The fuel distribution stations acquired in the Oslo region mark an important bridgehead for St1 on the Norwegian fuel market," St1 said in a statement. "The company is exploring potential for expansion in Norway." St1 said the stations were well suited for its "practice of costefficient remote operations" and would up its fuels market share to 8 percent in Sweden and just under 5 percent in Norway. "Also, the net sales of the St1 Group will increase to about 1.5 billion euros ($1.98 billion)," it said.