Date of incident: September 2020
Notice of incident number: 2020188270012
Employer: Auto service or repair business

Incident summary
At an auto repair shop, two workers were removing a vehicle’s fuel pump. The fuel pump was located inside the fuel tank, which the workers had to remove from the vehicle before the fuel pump could be removed. During the removal of the fuel pump, gasoline spilled onto the shop floor, the top of the fuel tank, and the clothing of one of the workers. Once the fuel pump had been removed, the worker wiped up the spilled gasoline, and then set up a portable electric fuel transfer pump to lower the level of gasoline inside the fuel tank. When the worker turned on a battery pack that was attached to the fuel transfer pump, a spark ignited vapour from the gasoline that had spilled onto the floor. The worker’s clothing caught on fire. The resulting fire caused significant structural damage to the shop and serious injuries to the worker.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Spark from fuel transfer system ignited gasoline vapour. When the battery pack was turned on, a spark was generated, most likely at the point where the fuel transfer pump and the battery pack were connected via alligator clips.

Contributing factors

• Inadequate supervision. The employer failed to clearly outline the role of shop supervisor and to provide the necessary training to supervise workers.
• Inadequate training and instruction. The employer failed to provide adequate training and instruction in the safe operation of the battery-powered electric fuel transfer pump. In addition, the employer failed to create and maintain a system of record keeping that documents worker training and supervisory roles.
• Inadequate management of workplace health and safety. The employer failed to conduct regular safety meetings to allow for the discussion of health and safety matters with workers. Had workers been exposed to consistent safety meetings, the fire hazard associated with gasoline spills and transferring gasoline when using a battery pack connected to an electric fuel transfer pump could have been discussed.
• No safe work procedures. The employer failed to develop and provide workers with written safe work procedures for setting up and operating a battery-powered electric fuel transfer system, as well as for cleaning up a gasoline spill in the shop.

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