International Fire Code

SUBJECT: Warning Signs
CHANGE TYPE: Modification

2205.6 Warning Signs. Warning signs shall be conspicuously posted within sight of each dispenser in the fuel-dispensing area and shall state the following:

1. It is illegal and dangerous to fill unapproved
containers with fuel.
2. 1. No smoking is prohibited.
3. 2. The engine shall be shut off during the refueling
process. Shut off motor.
4. Portable containers shall not be filled while
located inside the trunk, passenger compartment,
or truck bed of a vehicle.
3. Discharge your static electricity before fueling
by touching a metal surface away from the
nozzle.
4. To prevent static charge, do not reenter your
vehicle while gasoline is pumping.
5. If a fire starts, do not remove nozzle—back
away immediately.
6. It is unlawful and dangerous to dispense
gasoline into unapproved containers.
7. No filling of portable containers in or on a
motor vehicle. Place container on ground
before filling.

CHANGE SIGNIFICANCE:

This revision was developed by a task group consisting of code officials, petroleum industry representatives, and other fire and safety professionals. The primary focus of the change is to add a warning to advise users of the need to control the discharge of static electricity while dispensing gasoline into vehicles and portable containers.

In the past several years, a number of fires involving a flash ignition at the dispenser nozzle have occurred as a result of static discharge. A common element identified in many of these fires was the re-entry of the dispenser operator into the vehicle during the filling process. It has been determined that re-entry into a vehicle, which involves sliding across the seating surface, can generate a static charge adequate to ignite gasoline vapors when the charge jumps from an individual’s hand to a dispenser nozzle.

The severity of the static charge can change from very low to very high depending on a number of factors, such as relative humidity, tightness/looseness of clothing, and the clothing and seating materials. Anyone who has experienced a shock when touching a car door after exiting a vehicle, typically on a cold day with low relative humidity, can attest to the amount of energy discharged.

The new sign is also more straightforward with respect to warning the public about the need to place portable containers on the ground before filling to provide an electrical grounding path. Numerous fires have been documented involving portable containers being filled in passenger compartments, trunks and truck beds because carpeting, bed liners, etc., prevent the dissipation of static electricity caused by fuel splashing inside of containers when they are being filled.

In making this change to the IFC, it was the goal of the task group that authored the proposal to create a standardized sign that would be utilized throughout the U.S. However, although similar changes were made to NFPA 30A, the NFPA standard on motor vehicle fuel-dispensing stations, there are still slight differences between the signage requirements in the two documents. For example, the NFPA 30A warning sign addresses dispensing of gasoline by youths who are not licensed drivers but the IFC sign does not include this information. Instead, the IFC assumes that individual states will prescribe suitable supplemental warnings to be added on the warning sign to address dispensing of fuel by minors.