Storm preparation is one of those things that nobody wants to think about beforehand, but everyone is glad they did it after the fact. Whether you're a small business owner or you work for city or county government, you have people who depend on you. The community depends on local government to keep services running. Small business owners and fuel distributors have customers that rely on them to keep providing the good and services they need. And a major hurricane will definitely put a kink in any of those plans.
How's Your Emergency Plan? Business Who Don't Have One May Not Last
Often, small businesses are stretched thin just keeping their heads above water in the marketplace. They may not think they have the time or money to plan for something that hasn't even happened yet. This is a grave mistake. History shows that businesses hit by major storms who have stop operating for more than 30 days, 80% of those businesses have to declare bankruptcy. They never re-open their doors.
Municipalities, industrial companies and public/private fleets should have detailed plans in place to prepare them for catastrophic emergencies. Many times, with local governments, they may already have required protocols defined, so everyone knows what to do. These plans always should include contingencies for fuel storage to power the emergency generators and equipment that will be needed to provide services during such an event.
A good emergency plan should consider the following elements with respect to stored fuels:
Stored diesel and gasoline fuels have to be ready to use at a moment’s notice, because an unexpected emergency can happen at any time. These fuels need to be kept fresh and their quality must be protected from the elements that attack stored fuel quality.
Exposure to water, air and heat are the most common causes of the degradation of stored fuel quality. This elements will set off chemical reactions that destroy the quality of the gas or diesel and render them less or even in-effective. Treating the fuel with a fuel stabilizer (for diesel fuel) and a water control agent (especially important for gasoline and ethanol) are important parts of an emergency fuel management protocol.