THIRTY vehicles were sestriyed by the fire outbreak at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corprration (NNPC) filling station in Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos, the Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said on Tuesday.
The filling station is located at YayaYaya Abatan bus Stop, off College Road, Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.
According to Oke-Osanyintolu, a petroleum tanker with 33,000 litres of diesel caught fire while discharging its contents into an underground tank at the NNPC filling station.
He said: “The agency officials received a distress call at about 1 p.m. on April 27, concerning a fire outbreak at NNPC filling station located at Yaya Abatan bus stop, off College Road.
“The agency’s response team personally coordinated by myself and other emergency responders jointly fought and subsequently extinguished the flames at about 4.49 p.m.
“No casualty nor fatality was recorded, about 30 vehicles were affected. The combined effort of the emergency responders led to the salvage of properties and buildings nearby,” he said.
Oke-Osanyintolu said present during the recovery operations were the state Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins; Chairman Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Council, Apostle Oloruntoba Oke; Federal and Lagos State Fire Services as well as National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
He said other security agencies present were Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Oke-Osanyintolu said four recommendations were provided to prevent future fire outbreaks such as continuous sensitisation and advocacy on fire safety measures by relevant government agencies.
Others, he said, were encouraging installation of fire extinguishers at both public and private domains, and fire hydrant at filling stations.
Also, ensuring that onlookers stay safe by keeping away from the flames and observe social distancing while freeing the responders to carry out their work unhindered.