Warnings Over Storing Petrol At Home

Head of Service for Olympics and Resilience, Bob Hark, said: “Unless you have an absolute safety-critical need to store petrol on your premises, do not do it. It is a highly flammable liquid that gives off an extremely highly flammable vapour which is very easily ignited. The consequences can be catastrophic.

“If for any reason you do have a safety-critical need to store petrol, then make sure that all safety regulations are complied with at all times. Also ensure that when and if you open your cans, that you are in the open air and have the correct dry powder fire extinguishers on hand. Never open petrol cans inside your garage or in any confined space, always do it in the open air away from any potential sources of ignition. Our advice however is not to store them in the first place since the risks of doing so irresponsibly are simply too high.”

The following safety information should be adhered to:

• Do not store petrol inside domestic premises

• Store petrol in a place that is not part of or attached to a building used as a

  dwelling

• Petrol must be stored in approved plastic or metal containers of the sort that

  can typically be purchased from filling stations

• You can legally store up to 30 litres of petrol in two appropriate 10 litre metal

  containers and two appropriate 5 litre plastic containers.

  The advice from Dorset Police is also to stick to normal routines to avoid unnecessary panic-buying with the following messages: