Commotion in Abuja, as Fire Outbreak Yesterday At Conoil filling station

ABUJA—A loud
explosion from
the Conoil
Filling Station
directly
opposite the
Nigerian
National
Petroleum
Corporation,
NNPC,
Headquarters,
Abuja,
triggered a fire outbreak yesterday that flared on
for hours in the capital city. It was gathered that
the explosion occurred from a tanker that was
discharging gasoline.
The explosion sent out a large ball of fire and
smoke into the air, thereby causing serious
commotion around the densely populated business
area of the city causing serious traffic blockade in
the process thereby bringing business activities to
a halt.
Although no casualties were recorded, many
sustained injuries as a result of the stampede to
escape from the area, as many who did not know
the exact cause, thought it was a bomb blast from
insurgents.
Fire fighters from the Nigerian Army, the Federal
Fire Service, Guards Brigade, FCT Fire Service and
the National Emergency Management Agency,
NEMA, battled to put out the fire which lasted over
three hours, from almost 2.30 to 4.30 pm.
Several buildings rocked
The impact of the explosion rocked several
buildings in the vicinity with glasses of some
buildings surrounding the filling station shattered.
The structures include the NNPCTowers and the
MillenniumBuildersPlaza, the building
housing Punch newspapers as well as banks and
other establishments. A driver with Zenith Bank
who sustained serious injuries from the impact was
rushed to the hospital by an ambulance belonging
to the National Emergency Management Agency,
NEMA.
Two staff of NNPC who were said to be
hypertensive collapsed from the effect of the
smoke and were subsequently rushed to the
hospital. Ambulances from NEMA, FRSC and other
rescue agencies were on hand to render services
during the confusion.
CP Ogunbayode and Brig. Gen. Atewe
Speaking with journalists, Commissioner of Police,
CP, FCT Command, Mr. Femi Ogunbayode who was
accompanied by the Commander, Guards Brigade,
Brigadier General Emmanuel Atewe to the scene of
the inferno, said that the authorities could not
ascertain the number of casualties, but said that
rescue efforts were ongoing.
A staff of the filling station who pleaded anonymity
told Vanguard that the truck driver failed to put off
the engine of the truck while it was discharging the
product.
The staff said: "Usually, whenever this kind of thing
happens, the NNPC helps us to put the fire out. This
time around, I don't know why they didn't do
anything. They have a big truck, but I don't know
whether or not they didn't have enough water to
put the fire out.
"This kind of thing happens often. Whenever it
happens, we often put it off. It has happened four
times before. This year, it has happened once. No
car was burnt, except the truck that was
discharging the fuel. Everybody escaped unhurt
and the vehicles were able to escape too."
Speaking with Vanguard on the cause of the
inferno, a fuel attendant, at the burnt Conoil filling
station, John Okoh who disclosed that the inferno
occurred in the course of discharging fuel from the
tanker, said: "We were monitoring the fuel tanker
and in the process of discharging the fuel from the
tanker to the underground tank, the fire came out
of the holes, which almost caught our clothes
before we ran.
The attendant lamented that if the tanker driver
was able to enter the vehicle and moved it away,
the fire outbreak would have been controlled
Another eye witness, Grace Bakka said: "I was
making transaction in the bank when I heard that
fire has gutted the filling station opposite NNPC
tower, I ran out of the bank and I saw the fire before
the explosions started. It was not a bomb, it was
fire explosion.
FCT Minister speaks
Meanwhile, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory
Administration, FCTA, Senator Bala Mohammed,
who rushed to the scene of the incident described
it as unfortunate. He said: "We have not got the
details to know what caused the fire, but certainly
it is not an explosive device, it is the fuel that
became the source of the explosion and it almost
affected the underground tunnels.
"This incident should be an eye opener to us, if the
NNPC can do something to see that a similar thing
does not happen again in the future.
NNPC boss on safety audit
Also speaking at the scene of the accident, the
group managing director of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu
who disclosed that the corporation plans to carry
out a comprehensive safety audit, said: "We as
major stakeholders in the downstream sector will
collaborate with other stakeholders in the industry
to ensure that we do a comprehensive safety audit.
We are going to use this incidence to improve on
our own processes."
SOURCE: Vanguard Nigeria
Sent From David Aniemeka