A 45,000-litre petrol tanker burst into flames on Thursday, January 25, in the process of transferring petrol into the reservoir of Fortunate Petrol Filling Station in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
An eye witness who was at the scene at the time if the incident reported that the quick intervention of the state fire service had been the saving grace for the filling station from experiencing major fire disaster.
The fire incident occurred around 19:44 hours, at the filling station situated opposite Government Secondary School, Maraba, on Old Jebba Road, Ilorin.
The petrol tanker, with a registration number of PTG 534 XA, was attempting to transfer PMS into the station’s reservoir.
In the space of 10 minutes, the firefighters successfully brought the blaze under control and extinguished it.
Hassan Adekunle, the spokesman for the state fire service had said that further investigations showed that the tanker, having travelled a considerable distance, became too hot, leading to accidentally spilled petrol igniting and causing alarm.
Hon. AbdulRazaq Jiddah, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State had arrived at the scene shortly after the fire was brought under control commended the firefighters for their heroic efforts and rapid response in preventing massive damage to the filling station and nearby structures.
