Tips to Secure Your Fuel and Home Heating Oil Supply

IFA Rural Crime Prevention Executive Colin Connolly offers some advice to secure your home heating oil and fuel.

With a rise in the cost of oil on the way, it is more important than ever to be mindful of security solutions that can help to protect your supply from theft. Taking preventative measures doesn’t have to be difficult and will ensure that you are not an easy victim.

Fuel Tank Security: Isolate the power supply to the tank when not in use, if possible. Install a control switch that can only be activated from inside the house or farm office.

Oil Drums/ Containers: Be careful not to leave empty containers lying around or in the vicinity of the tank as it may encourage opportunist thieves.

Padlock: Make sure to use robust padlocks on oil tank openings.

Security Lights & CCTV: Make sure that your tank is well lit up with security lighting and if you have CCTV, ensure that the camera is trained on the tank. Be sure to check in case the security lighting is interfering with the footage being recorded. A reputable security solutions installer will guide you in this area.

Fuel Tank Alarms: Consider installing a fuel tank alarm or monitoring system that will alert you immediately if there is any interference of drop in fuel level.

Positioning of the fuel Tank: If your fuel tank is easy to access on a daily basis for you, it will also be easy for a criminal to access. Ensure that your tank is out of the sight and try in as far as possible to have a cage or structure surrounding it. Consider planting naturally defensive shrubs around your tank. Also remember that a criminal is not going to carry away large quantities of fuel by hand. They will need access to a car or van so make sure that access gates are closed.

Machinery: Be conscious of fuel being syphoned from machinery. Don’t leave machinery in fields overnight, where possible. Perhaps try to keep an accurate fuel record – a simple record of when you add fuel can be invaluable.