A PETROL station was evacuated following a potentially explosive gas leak hissing from a vehicle.

The Safeway petrol station at Rivergum Village in Plenty Rd, South Morang, was shut down for more than three hours last Tuesday after a customer noticed gas bubbling from his LPG tank after filling up about 6pm.

The leak forced the station into an emergency shutdown as emergency crews raced there.

Police cordoned off more than half of the adjoining shops and city-bound lanes of Plenty Rd as South Morang and Epping fire crews worked with the RACV to remove the Ford Falcon Fairmont's gas tank and transport it to an open paddock.

South Morang CFA Captain Lindsay McHugh said the situation had been "high risk", compounded by a 53,000-litre petrol tanker making a delivery to the site at the time.

He said that, while the CFA was called out to several vehicle gas leaks a year, the fact that this leak had occurred at a petrol station and that fire crews hadn't been able to stop the leak made it one of the more "dangerous".

Mr McHugh said the tank had been removed for safety after other efforts to stop the leak had failed. It was driven on a fire truck under a water curtain shortly before 9pm to be vented in an open area.

Mr McHugh said that, apart from the risk of explosion, fire crews also had to contend with the gas itself classified as cryogenic material. LP gas is a cold gas, kept at temperatures between -48C and -52C, and can cause severe cold burns to those who handle it. "It freezes up all the fittings around it," he said.

Mr McHugh advised motorists to take care of their gas tanks. "Like the rest of the car, the fuel system needs to be serviced and maintained," he said. "Otherwise things get worn down and leaks such as this can happen."

Source: Whittlesea Leader