The public, businesses and organisations all rely to some extent on fuel, whether it is for getting children to school, commuting to work, or providing services. The availability of fuel within the UK is generally very good. However there have been situations in the past of disruption to supply on both a regional and national basis.
Furthermore, for homes and business who burn oil to provide warmth, the industry has seen an increase in demand for domestic and business oil delivery throughout the winter months. The demand from people and organiations can mean that getting the oil to those people can be badly affected if snow and wide spread ice affects the road network. Advice from national bodies about fuel oil is available at:
Impact on local services
- Supplies of fuel at filling stations will be under pressure
- Emergency services, such as the Police, the Fire Service, and the Ambulance Service, will need to have sufficient fuel to respond to calls to 999 and non-emergency calls from the public
Outcome of no fuel locally
- Panic buying because people are worried about being able to travel
- Essential services provided to people who are vulnerable in Dorset
- Disruption to our communities, businesses and schools
- Reduced abilitiy for lorries and vans to deliver goods to shops
- People may demonstrate against the shortages of fuel
- Criminals may take the opportunity to try to steal fuel from homes or businesses
What you can do
Nationally, the UK has a resilient and reliable network of petrol stations. In the past the main cause of interruptions to the supply of petrol has been through strike action taken by fuel tanker drivers, this means that deliveries of fuel are not being made to petrol stations.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has some practical advice if you do have a petrol can or a metal container at home, that you use to store fuel in.
In addition to the fire service advice, below are some other practical things you can do when fuel is in short supply:
- Avoid car journeys, unless necessary
- Use alternative ways of getting around, such as walking or cycling
- Get together with neighbours and car share to save petrol
