The rent may be cheap, but it could end up costing you your life. The gas station business fever, which has recently gripped the nation, has sparked security and health concerns, especially for residents living around the stations. In a time-bomb business like this one, a simple fire could turn the whole neighborhood into ashes in just a few minutes. Alternatively, the smell of chemicals and gas seeping into the respiratory system could lead to a slow death. People have spoken up and complained, but they say that the grievances they have expressed to municipal officials on the matter have fallen on deaf ears. There are many little known dangers at gas pumps, such as, static electricity, running engines, or drivers who smoke that can cause a deadly fire to suddenly ignite. Static electricity, for example, builds up more commonly in cool, dry air like that of Saudi Arabia. This turns the gas station into an unexpected source of disaster. The Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) in the US has admitted that refueling is dangerous; a fact that cannot be hidden from the public anymore. A recent sudden fire in a gas station in Suwaidi District in Riyadh could have eaten up the entire neighborhood had it not been for the quick response from the Civil Defense. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Residents near gas stations live with danger around the clock, said Najim Al-Sulami. “Nobody seems to worry about this deadly ghost that should not be allowed to haunt residential areas,” he said. It is a serious threat to innocent people who have done nothing wrong except to be unfortunate enough to end up living near danger; a danger that should not have been there in the first place, he added. Gas cylinder shops and warehouses located in residential neighborhoods are as dangerous as gas stations in case of fire, said Muhammad Al-Qaisi. Gas cylinder shops are scary time bombs that “I don't even want to look at when I drive by”, he added. “Where are the safety regulations which should prevent these businesses from being licensed and located next to where people are living?” he asked. There should be a designated area away from residential neighborhoods for this type of dangerous business, he said. “We don't really know on what basis these gas stations are licensed to operate in areas where people are living,” said Turki Muhammad. Not long ago, a gas tanker suddenly exploded while unloading gas at a gas station inside a residential neighborhood. It destroyed four cars and an ATM machine and created panic inside the neighborhood which was covered by a thick black cloud of smoke, he said. Gas tanks where tankers unload their cargo are very close to the gas station itself and sometimes on the edge of the main street, creating an imminent danger to everybody passing by, he said. “What is the municipality doing about this problem?” asked Najim Al-Sulami. “If these gas stations have been wrongly licensed in residential areas, the mistake should be corrected by relocating them,” he added. Even if they don't explode, gas stations are also a source of health hazards, said Talal Al-Zahrani. High concentrations of gasoline are irritating to the lungs and the nervous system when breathed in. Less serious nervous system complications include dizziness and headaches, while more serious effects include coma and the inability to breathe. Al-Zahrani agreed with Al-Qaisi on relocating gas stations outside residential areas. As businessmen, the owners of gas stations look for the best location to boost their chances of profit with no regard to public health, said Dakheel Al-Sulami. The more populated the area, the more the income, he said. But Al-Sulami did not blame them as much he blamed the authorities issuing business licenses for gas stations to operate inside residential areas. The location of some of these gas stations is even more problematic in hard-to-reach areas in case of fire, said Ali Hamid. It would be difficult for firefighters to easily battle a fire from a gas station in a very congested area, he said.
