IT was a day to remember yesterday for commuters, businesses and fuel attendants following a fire incident at Mobil fuel station along Obafemi Awolowo Road, Ikeja, Lagos.
Eleven persons were injured while nine vehicles got burnt in the fire incident.
The Guardian learnt that the fire destroyed a gas tanker, a Toyota Hiace bus, two commercial mini-buses, a Sienna car, a Honda Accord, Volkswagen, a Gulf car, Toyota Corolla and a Citroen car.
It also affected an adjoining two-storey building, the Mobile Mart building, two pumping machines and a vulcanizer pumping machine. .
Director of Operations, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Olatunde Akinsanya, said the agency got the report of the incident about 10:00a.m.
“We got calls about a gas explosion at the Mobile filling station and LASEMA alongside the Lagos State Rescue and Fire Rescue Service (LSFRS), and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) deployed machinery and engaged the fire in a tactical manner.
We were able to subdue the fire and prevent it from spreading to the Airport Hotel and others. We put out the fire within 45 minutes.
“We rescued 11 victims and one of them suffered about 90 per cent of burns and was taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and will be further transferred to the Gbagada Burnt Unit,” he said.
On the cause of the incident , efforts and capacity of the filling station to respond to fire outbreaks, he said:
“The incident happened at the time the filling station was dispensing fuel and gas at the same time. The level of emergency preparedness at the station is low, however, the scale of the gas explosion is high.
“10 tons of gas tanks are involved, so it’s a great job done by the emergency agencies involved.
He added: “It should be noted that the government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu has put in place all infrastructure to manage emergencies at different levels.
Advising filling station owners, he said: “As a matter of safety, there is a need to reduce safety risks around petrol stations where there is a need to trans load or load a gas. The management of filling stations should stop selling fuel whenever there is a need to discharge gas.”
Meanwhile, LASEMA has asked people living in the affected adjoining building to move out until after an integrity test has been concluded.
Also , investigation by the agency said one of the Mobil station officers, revealed that damage occurred to the eight -ton LPG gas cylinder truck while gas was being dispensed to customers, causing the gas to escape rapidly, before bursting into flames.
LASEMA Response Team (LRT), along with the LSFRS , NEMA, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA),Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), and the Police are involved in further response and investigations.
Reacting to the Incident, 11PLC, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, in a statement made available to The Guardian, revealed that the station has been temporarily closed until further notice.
The company said it is cooperating fully with relevant government agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.
It added that they are assessing the extent of the damage and implementing necessary measures to minimise similar incidents in future with confirmation that the injured individuals have been taken to the hospital.
“At 11Plc, safety is not just a priority, it’s a core value, we are dedicated to ensuring the well-being of our employees, customers and general public. Our management team is working diligently to address this situation and ensure a swift and comprehensive resolution, reinforcing our commitment to safety,” the company stated
However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited said the fire has nothing to do with the compressed natural gas station recently unveiled by the NNPC Gas Marketing Limited and (NIPCO).
“The NNPC Ltd wishes to state that the reported explosion at a filling station in Ikeja, Lagos, has nothing to do with the recently commissioned NNPC Gas Marketing Ltd (NGML)/NIPCO Compressed Natural Gas Stations, which are currently functioning and running safely without any incident,” a statement by the NNPC spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye said.
He added that the CNG station was not affected by the explosion.
“The NNPC Ltd also wishes to add that the NGML was not affected by the explosion; it is not involved in the activities of the affected station and all NGML facilities in Lagos, including pipelines, metering stations, above-ground installation and CNG facilities are in safe operating condition,” he noted.
