Inquiry told of car petrol tank danger

least five garage workers in Britain, a fatal accident inquiry in Paisley was told yesterday. The inquiry heard that 18-year-old YTS youth Jason Reid, of Gilmartin

Road, Linwood, was burned to death in a garage in Johnstone after petrol splashed over him. Mechanics, given only 40 minutes to drain and replace the tanks, are

taking a ”shortcut to danger,” depute fiscal Mr James Brisbane said. They empty the tanks by opening the sender unit, causing petrol to spill out, instead of the recommended slower method of syphoning from

the inlet pipe, he said. Mr Reid was sent to wash his eyes after being splashed. But a spark

from a welding unit ignited petrol vapour, turning the garage into an inferno. Mr Reid, nine months into a Youth Training Scheme in the

garage, was found by firemen sitting dead at the sink ready to wash. Two men in Bristol, and one in Leeds and the Isle of Man, all died in similar accidents, an official of the Health and Safety Executive said.

Mr Martin Brindlay, Vauxhall’s technical manager at Luton, told Sheriff Colin Higgins: ”Our company is very concerned about this problem.”

He said that Vauxhall recommended the syphoning method, and said he did not know why small drain plugs had been abandoned by British car manufacturers.

”If we find our franchise dealers using the quick method of draining through the sender unit we come down hard on them,” he added. He told the sheriff that the design teams in Germany had been called

in to help solve the problem. The inquiry at Paisley Sheriff Court was told that British car manufacturers had asked the motor trade for help in suggesting a safe

method of draining petrol tanks, but none had come to light. The inquiry heard how mechanics with their overalls on fire jumped over cars and out of exits to safety as the flames spread quickly

through the Johnstone garage. Fire officer Mr John Hodge told the inquiry that although the garage had a certificate for storing petrol, it did not have a fire certificate

and the use of the upstairs where Mr Reid died would have been

condemned.

Sheriff Higgins will give his written findings at a later date.