UMATILLA COUNTY — If Gov. Tina Kotek signs Oregon House Bill 2426, Oregonians will be able to pump their own gas.

The new law would mean all Oregonians for the first time in 72 years will be able to fill their tanks on their own.

For some, it’s about time. For others, the news is not welcome.

“I am concerned about the elderly, the disabled,” Deborah Pearson of Pendleton said while filling up with gas Monday, July 10, at Circle K on Southeast Court Avenue.

“Are some people going to have to take someone with them?” she said. “Is it going to be an extra service to have to pay for? Is there a guarantee?”

Logan Bates of Pendleton, a gas attendant at downtown Circle K, expressed concern about the loss of gas attendant jobs.

“Working at a gas station has been a good start,” he said. “It’s a great job while in high school or when right out of high school.”

Bates said he also is concerned about older people who do not want to or cannot fill up their own tank.

“It does seem 50-50 though with people,” he said. “I am not finding that most people are either for it or against it.”

Jean Fletcher of Lexington said she would rather have attendants pump her gas.

“I don’t like having to get out of my car because I’m old and I hurt,” she said July 7 while getting gas at Space Age Travel near Hermiston. She said there are times when she drives into Washington where self-service is the norm.

“I usually have my husband pump the gas,” she said.

Shelly Pierce lives in Washington but regularly travels to Oregon. She said she’s not a fan of having to wait for an attendant.

“It’s just stupid because just about everywhere in the country you can pump your gas,” she said. “I don’t know why they think people in Oregon can’t do it.”

Jackie Hamlin is another Washingtonian who travels to Oregon on occasion. She was at Pilot Flying J in Stanfield on July 7 and said she supports House Bill 2426.

“I think it’s way overdue,” she said, adding she likes pumping her own gas. “It’s just faster and easier for me,” she said.

Phil Wagoner of Hermiston said he likes the convenience of self-service stations.

“I’m fine with it,” he said. “I travel a lot to other states around the Pacific Northwest and have to pump my own gas. It’s convenient, especially when it’s late and gas stations are closed. Sometimes in Oregon, you’re out of luck if the station is closed.”

Jeanette Curtis of Hermiston said the bill is a double-edged sword.

“It’s more convenient not to have to wait for someone to do it for you,” she said. “But on the other hand, I worry about attendants losing their jobs. I think a lot of people will be out of work.”

Pendleton resident Karl Davis said he’s OK with pumping his own gas.

“It doesn’t matter to me one way or another,” Davis said. “But they should offer a discount if you pump your own gas, but I know that’s not going to happen.”

Many Oregonians have been able to pump their own gas for several years.

A 2015 law allowed drivers to pump their own gas after hours in rural communities. Then, in 2018, the law was expanded to include self-service at all hours in Oregon counties with populations less than 40,000.

“We’ve been doing it for the last few years,” Pierce said.

There are issues beyond convenience and jobs with HB 2426. Concerns exist over the safety of having the public pump their own gas.

A report from the National Fire Protection Association found an average of 4,150 fires at service stations per year from 2014 to 2018. The report said an average of three civilian deaths, 43 civilian fire injuries and $30 million in property damage occur per year due to service station fires. A total of 56% of the fires were vehicle fires. Nearly half of the fires at stations were either dumpster fires or caused by electrical shorts inside the service station building. The report does not indicate if vehicle fires were caused by mechanical failure or human error.

Pendleton Fire Chief Jim Critchley said he is fine with people pumping their own gas, “but we hate sparks. Sparks provide the chance for something terrible to happen.”

He advised people at the pump to stay away from smoking and be aware even getting in and out of a car can generate static electricity that can spark when you touch the gas pump.

“If there is a spark and your gas tank lights, move away, get away, and let someone know, call 911,” Critchley said.

But he added he considers this more of an employment question than a safety issue.

“We just need to be mindful,” he said.

Brendan Mahoney of Washington, D.C., who was a customer of Circle K, said he didn’t really have any strong thoughts about the change, but he did say, “Why now? What has happened or is happening that has led to this changing now? If it is not broken, don’t fix it. Is something broken? What is broken?”

As a customer at Dave’s Chevron, pumping his own gas, Fred Jensen of Richland, Washington, said ending the self-service ban would be “the greatest thing in the world, but I also know that this will result in people losing their jobs.”

Jensen said he enjoys the full-service, but he also likes the ability to self-serve.

“I want to be able to help some of the workers out and do it myself if the gas jockeys are busy,” he said “I get it.”

And if people want full service, he said, he hopes they can have it.

If Kotek signs the bill, there still will be stations with gas attendants as Oregon counties with large populations will be required to have a gas attendant and offer full-service.

Jack Persinger of Pendleton, another gas attendant for Dave’s, said the business plans on having full-service and self-service pumps.

Kotek has yet to indicate if she will sign the bill into law.

Ken Jacobs of Pendleton also was filling up July 10 at Dave’s Chevron.

“I think it is terrible,” he said. “I love the service, and Dave’s gives great service.”

He also touched on the safety issue.

Some people, pumping their own gas just is not safe,” he said.

Erik Johnson of Pendleton, also a gas attendant at Dave’s, said a lot of people will lose jobs, and having full-service is convenient, especially if you are traveling and in an unfamiliar area.

“Having someone else fill your tank gives you the chance to stretch out, walk around a bit, tend to your children, take a pet out, or grab a drink or snack,” he said.

Buck Weilert of Pendleton also is an attendant at Dave’s and said he has pumped gas in temperatures from -3 degrees to 117 degrees.

“That isn’t easy for a lot of people, and I am thinking about my grandma,” he said. ”I don’t see her doing that. I hope she gets the service she needs.”

All three attendants at Dave’s said about 75% of the people who come through the station are shocked when attendants serve them, but love it and are friendly in return.

But there is that 25% or so, they said, who are not keen on having to wait for attendants.

“They just fill up and go,” Weilert said, “but there is nothing wrong with that.”