Phones do NOT start fires at petrol stations

OK, Now that I got your attention, I should say nothing is absolute. But having said that, I would thank you all to STOP forwarding those emails warning people that mobile phones start petrol fires. There has been no evidence to show this is true, other than the email from your mothers' sisters' third-cousin four-times-removed.

Here is a website that says this clearly.

I append the following exerpt from the website. You are encouraged to read more at the PEI website here.

The Petroleum Equipment Institute began investigating mysterious refueling fires in the mid-1990s. We learned that static electricity—the same thing that shocks you after you drag your feet on the carpet—can ignite gasoline vapors at the pump.
Watch the video of an actual refueling fire incident: AVI | MOV

Almost 200 incidents have been reported to PEI that appear to be related to static electrical discharge. We've made our full report of Refueling Fire Incidents

available.

Three Rules for Safe Refueling

1. Turn off engine.
2. Don't smoke.
3. Never re-enter your vehicle while refueling.

Are Cell Phones Responsible?

No. We have not documented a single incident that was caused by a cellular telephone.