A gas station burned to the ground in Dubai the other day. Created quite the scene. Black smoke over the city, etc.

A few days later, The National came back with a story that probably surprised almost no one who drives in the UAE.

Refueling Your Car Is Treated Too Casually in the UAE.

No kidding.

The story outlined the several areas where safety precautions are routinely overlooked in this country.

–Failing to turn off engines while refueling.

–Smoking during refueling.

–Low-tech hoses and nozzles that do little to trap fuel vapor.

–Drivers taking off while fuel hoses are still in their cars.

A professor at the University of Sharjah told The National: “The risk of cars catching fire at petrol stations is very high in the UAE when you take into consideration the high ambient temperature.”

I certainly can vouch that the first three issues, above, are epidemic, having done a bit of driving for the past four years here.

The turning off engines thing is huge, particularly in the six months of summer, when drivers are extremely resistant to shutting down — because they lose air-conditioning. One of the attendants quoted in the story said customers become angry if they are asked to shut off the engine — which is routine in most parts of the world.

Our reporter quotes a driver saying: “I know we should turn our engines off but it’s very hot.”

Smoking is common here, and those who smoke don’t seem to make any differentiation between smoking in safe places … and smoking in their cars while they are being refueled.

And, yes, the the nozzles and hoses are low-tech. None of the vapor-trapping devices you tend to see in the West — which are about air pollution as well as the risk of fire.

Can’t say I’ve actually seen someone drive off while a fuel hose is still stuck in their cars, but given the impatience that is the default setting at gas stations — many of which are typically overcrowded — it isn’t hard to imagine someone throwing money at an attendant and pulling out.

The surprise here?

That we don’t see more filling stations go up in flames.