Station attendants, customers and many people at the Abiodun Ojo Filling Station, Lokoja, escaped death by whiskers on Thursday when a tanker caught fire while discharging petrol.

It took the concerted intervention of the state fire service and some good samaritans to put out the fire.

Although no life was lost, the incident caused serious gridlock on the ever-busy road, particularly around Logongoma Market, Phase 1.

It was learnt that the incident happened around 3:30 p.m.

The station manager declined to comment, but witness accounts attributed the fire to a spark from the tanker.

A witness, Fatima Ali, told journalists that the tanker arrived at the station and was about to start discharging product when a spark occurred.

“The spark immediately triggered off the fire,” Ms Ali said.

She said that when the tanker caught fire, the driver summoned courage and drove it out of the station to the road, where fire service men came to extinguish the flames.

According to her, workers at the nearby EEgoja Gas Station rushed to the filing station with fire extinguishers and helped fight the fire.

Motorists and other road users diverted to one lane of the road as frantic efforts were made to bring the situation under control.

The acting director, Kogi Fire Service, Salahu Ozigi-Umar, expressed gratitude to God for the timely intervention by people from the neighbourhood.

“Of course, there was some little damage to the station and the tanker.

“The joy is that no life was lost, and no attendant suffered any injuries as a result of the unfortunate incident.

“The only challenge we had in the process of extinguishing the fire was the undue interference from sympathisers.

“The major cause of the fire would possibly be the long journey by the tanker, coupled with the present harsh weather conditions,” Mr Ozigi-Umar said.

He advised motorists to always obey all cautionary signs and ensure other safety measures, including installing necessary vehicle equipment.

The spokesman for the state police command, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, expressed happiness over the timely intervention of the state fire service, which helped to bring the situation under control. 

(NAN)