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Reports reaching the desk of The Eastern Updates have it that a tanker, laden with diesel, yesterday exploded along Aba-Owerri road, in Aba, Abia State, destroying property worth several millions of Naira.
According to eyewitnesses, the inferno lasted over an hour before it was put out by the men of the Abia State Fire Service from the Aba and Umuahia zones.
When the inferno was contained, office equipment at the business centres within the Umungasi Post Office was destroyed, with owners lamenting.
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Chief Fire Officer of Abia State Fire Service, Mr. Arua Nnanna, who blamed the cause of the inferno on heat waves, described the incident as avoidable.
He explained that they have warned fuel station owners to always discharge their products when the intensity is not high.
On the possible cause of the fire, Nnanna said, “You can see the tanker on fire because they were offloading and we’ve always told them when you’re doing offloading, do it in the morning not in the afternoon when the intensity is very high. Or they do it at night and they must make sure all the necessary safety materials are available.
“Look at the entire area, I could not spot any single fire extinguisher for safety. Most of these things are out of carelessness or accident. He thanked residents and other security agencies for their cooperation,” he said.
Nnanna also described the firefighting as one of the most laudable ones his men have taken part in and thanked residents and other agencies for their cooperation.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who visited the scene of the incident, said he was yet to be briefed on the cause of the fire, and cautioned people to avoid going close to petroleum products with materials that can trigger fire, including switching off their electrical appliances when leaving the house to avoid a spark as the dry season was prone to fire incident.
The Governor stated that the state government would be embarking on advocacy and media campaigns to ensure that there won’t be a repeat of such an incident.
