Florida Gas Stations Cleared After Hurricane Dorian

Tallahassee, Fla. — Following Hurricane Dorian, inspectors with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have inspected 250 gas stations most likely to have been impacted by the storm, with no significant issues found. Bureau of Standards personnel began inspecting gas stations Thursday along Florida’s east coast to ensure fuel supplies weren’t compromised by water in underground storage tanks and to detect credit card skimmers.

The inspectors found that among 250 stations, none had received storm-related damage, and only two had water infiltration in underground petroleum tanks. One station had already identified the issue and was not selling fuel, and the other had minimal levels that would not contaminate fuel being sold. All other inspected stations had normal fuel supplies and were open for business. Inspectors also found and removed 15 skimmer devices from among the 250 stations.

“After a disaster like Hurricane Dorian, we work swiftly to ensure that consumers are protected at the pump – from fraud hitting their wallets, to bad fuel hitting their gas tanks,” said Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried. “While we’re confident consumers should feel safe fueling up post-storm, we encourage anyone suspecting issues to report them to us at 1-800-HELP-FLA or FloridaConsumerHelp.com.”

See photos of the gas station inspections

The Department’s Division of Consumer Services inspects gas pumps at 9,000 gas stations per year, checking for both skimmers and accuracy, and have removed more than 2,800 skimmers since 2015. See tips on how consumers can avoid credit card fraud at the gas pump. As the consumer complaint clearinghouse for Florida, the Division also handles 250,000 inquiries and 40,000 consumer complaints per year, including fake charities, telemarketing fraud, and gas pump skimmers. Consumers can report a complaint by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA in English, by calling 1-800-FL-AYUDA en Español, or by visiting FloridaConsumerHelp.com.

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