EL PASO, Texas--Recently, the advertisements normally on top of the gasoline pumps at several El Paso, Texas, Sam's Club's gas stations were gone, and signs hanging from the canopy instructed motorists to use their cell phones to text a message to receive information on promotions.
"The sign said to text. You text some numbers and get deals and information on some sales. So I took out my cell phone. I though I would find out what this is all about," customer Raelene Perea told KFOX-TV. When she started to text, an attendant stopped her, saying that using [image-nocss] a cell phone while pumping gasoline may cause a fire.
More than 24 hours after Perea's incident at the warehouse club's station, the signs were taken down, the report said. KFOX added that it checked both of the Sam's Clubs in East and West El Paso; both locations had also removed the signs.
Sam's Club representatives told the news outlet that they were looking into the matter.
The incident raises an old debate that may thought was settled. Can cell phones cause fires at the pump? Despite alack of evidence, some people still believe that phones can cause fires.
A May 2004 CSP Daily News poll asked, "Do you think that cell phones can cause fires at the pump?" The results: 53% of the respondents said "no" (23.4% of them added that they believe such incidents are generally caused by static); 16.2% said "maybe"; 24.4% said "yes"; and 6.3% said they were not sure. (Please be sure to vote in today's Kraft/CSP Daily News poll updating the question.)
Robert Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) said he comes down firmly on the side of "no." Reiterating the association's longstanding position, he told CSP Daily News yesterday that "there is no evidence that cell phones cause fires at refueling sites."
He said that he couldn't speculate on why Sam's took the signs down, except that they "probably think" that cell phones do cause fires. But he said, "We've been looking at this since 2000; there are 11 billion fuelings a year in the United States, so in the last seven years, that means 77 billion fuelings, and I still have not gotten [evidence of] one accident attributable to a cell phone causing a fire at a refueling site. I'm waiting for the first one."
On its website, the association said, "Cell phones continue to be cited as causing fires at the pump in emails circulating on the Internet. So far, we have been unable to document [a single incident that was] sparked by a cellular telephone. In fact, many researchers have tried to ignite fuel vapors with a cell phone and failed. PEI still recommends not using any electronic device that might distract the motorist during the refueling process."
Renkes added that he continues to getcalls from retailers and others asking about the fire risk from cell phones.
Click here to view the Petroleum Equipment Institute's webpage on static and cell phones at the pump, which includes links to websites that address the issue.
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