We have all heard of the saying “desperate times call for desperate measures.†The unfortunate part of that story is that more times than not those desperate measures affect US! Here’s a perfect example:
Nick Lawlor from Folsom (CA) Fire sent in these photos. Apparently the crew from Station 36 ran into this and took the photos. We don’t want to get into the step by step instructions here, but it seems pretty obvious what they were doing. Gas prices are ridiculous… Park this thing at a gas station, a little suction hose into the underground… you get the idea. Now imagine pulling up on a pin job with this vehicle involved. Would everyone think to look in the back? What about this thing on fire? Not really a situation for a truckie, but still worth mentioning. This is not an isolated incident. Do a little Google search; it’s happening all over the place.
We’re not sure if the combination of poly tanks, rubber hose, and metal pump causes any grounding or bonding issues. We’ll stick to the things we know, but maybe some of HAZMAT guys could enlighten us. Regardless, we’re sure there is a couple of hundred of gallons of fuel sitting in an unexpected place. Good things are not going to happen here.
There’s two tanks here! How much would that weigh when full?
a lot!!!!! lots of fire load, wtf i believe would be my first reaction if i was to pull up and this car was on fire… we have also had this in my small rural city the only difference is they are stealing diesel from parked trucks and farmers..as far as i know there have not been any reports of gas being stolen..
may the lord be with us all..
as to weight. 1 gallon of water is about 8lbs… that should give us all a pretty good idea
They apear to be very close in size to a typical foam tote. If they are then they are pretty close to 330 gallons, EACH!
1 gallon of gasoline equals 5.8 to 6.5 lbs depending on the additives. If this thing caught on fire it would be all about containment until you could get lots of foam set up. Just have to pray it didn’t catch fire on a hill.
Ian….don’t think you have to worry about that van being on the top of a hill with all that added weight…that year of Chrysler minivan was barely able to make it down a hill….bone dry….lol
Soccer moms just can’t be trusted can they? They look so innocent in their minivans, until now!
parked directly above the covers to the tanks as well I see.
just noticed the police cruiser in the background…..lol
Had that here in Central Florida recently, in a tow behind trailer. They had two tanks on board. Looked like an enclosed landscape truck.
we had come across a old beat up converted “short bus” (for lack of a better word), with about 20; 55 gal drums of cheap fuel from NJ coming into NYC…..strapped to the floor with rope and webbing….
Its out there….be aware
Why didnt I think of that!!!!!!!!!!!
Is there anyway we can get a video demonstration of this? I would like to see this thing in action.
John posses a VERY good point, but not just into NYC. Any community that is next to Jersey can see something of this nature in the fire district. Not only do you have to worry about the car on fire but the plastic tanks melting and fuel on the ground, then catching fire and continuing to travel. This is just ONE more thing we have to look out for in this “screwy” business.
Guess it’s time to buy a locking cap for my gas tank.
Those are 210 gallon totes!
I wonder what they are doing to compensate for the vapor expansion when the weather gets hot?
Not to mention the sources of ignition that will no doubt present themselves.
I’m waiting for the picture of it tooling down the road with the driver aka “Thug” enjoying a smoke.
Deadly risky for the firemen.
Thats is what’s called “a loser” in my book.
Maybe he isn’t a thief. Perhaps he just spends his off time driving around looking for cheap gas….then he really fills up!
Thank goodness someone removed the firefighter decal from the windshield.
😉
Looks like the owner of the minivan in California has some competition…. bright minds think alike!
http://www.vafire.com/fire_chat/US%20DOTOIG%20-%20HAZMAT%20Criminal%20Intelligence%20Alert.pdf
Think about the 5-0, not doggin any cops or anything but I know a few that could pull up and not even notice anything wrong with the picture of a van or trailor parked over the fuel tanks. Need to get this out to our law enforcement so they can be looking for this kind of stuff.
From the above pic.s it appears that the windows had been spray-painted black from the inside, the rear is sitting a bit low and there is a power cord coming out of the closed hood into the closed passenger door.
Good idea right there.
We had something like this in Hanford, California. Only on a smaller scale, and it caught fire. I think the guy was siphoning fuel from vehicles.
Bull…..was that guy driving a white chrysler minivan?
I love stupid crook stories. This problem had huge potential…
This may actually be a van stealing used fryer oil which is then converted into biodiesel. Read about a similar rig caught in the SF Bay area. No fire problem…just messy if the falls asleep at the wheel between his Burger King stops!
Can’t remember Dave?!