Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Fuel truck catches fire in gas station
Firefighters checked the truck where the blaze started
…driver reportedly runs away
The owners of Two Brothers gas station located at Eccles on the East Bank of Demerara are hoping to reopen their establishment for business tomorrow after a potentially catastrophic fire put a damper on their operations last evening.
Operators of the fuel establishment estimate that damage may be close to $18M after the vehicle of a customer seeking to buy fuel caught fire. The blaze began to spread and eventually engulfed the station’s loading facility which is located in the northern part of the business place. That area was completely destroyed along with a company fuel tanker.
While no one sustained injuries, the fire caused significant disruptions in traffic flow and caused much panic given that it was a gas station. According to Fire Chief Marlon Gentle who was present on the scene, distress calls were made just after 19:00hours, by both passersby and gas station staffers who reported fire coming from a truck parked at the location.
Gentle said that minutes later, fire fighters from the West Ruimveldt station sped to the location. By this time, Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) were already activated where other rescue agencies such as health workers and other support groups like the electricity company were informed.
However, when the West Ruimveldt team arrived at the gas station, they reported that heavy flames were coming from a tanker and additional special support was needed. This support came from the Central Fire Station where a large water bowser was brought on the scene along with what was described as Chinese specialized water tender which unlike the conventional water tenders, carries both foam and water. The foam is a concentrate of certain chemicals that reject fires of special liquids including fuel and other flammable liquids.
The Fire Chief expressed satisfaction with his men’s’ actions. He said that they endured a risk different from any other because “we are dealing with a gas station; we are dealing with two tankers with fuel and also where we are standing (underground) here.”
The fire backed up traffic for almost two hours.
He said all of the safety measures were activated and worked well. Pumps and other equipment were shut down to reduce the risk of an explosion.
In the meantime, investigations are ongoing on how the blaze would have started. Gentle said that they are unaware of what would have transpired prior to the blaze starting. He was unable to say, also, whether the truck was receiving gas at the time or was waiting to be served.
‘A’ Division Police Commander Clifton Hicken was also on the scene. He too spoke of the smooth running of the operation since all SOPs were followed. He said that the fire was able to be contained within good time.
He said firefighters were using water but this seemed to feed the blaze. It took them some three to five minutes to switch over from water to foam to control the blaze.
Javed Ali, one of the Directors of Two Brothers Gas Station, told the publication that he arrived at the scene last evening after his supervisor called to say that a customer’s truck had caught on fire. He said that he was told that the customer came to purchase two barrels of fuel.
The man said that the staffers used fire extinguishers in an attempt to out the blaze. But when this did not work they simply tried to contain the blaze. He praised the fire workers who he said arrived soon enough to take over from the staff and stop the incident from getting worst.
Ali said the damage to the truck and loading area is around $18M. He hopes to open business tomorrow.
Kaieteur News understands that the driver of the truck had abandoned the vehicle after it caught ablaze. Some suggested that, “he got scared and ran away.”
Yesterday’s event also took its toll on traffic traversing the East Bank. Traffic heading north and south was backed up for more than a mile and moved at snail pace. The eastern half of the thoroughfare in front of the gas station had to be closed off. About an hour later commuters got some relief when that section of the road was reopened.
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