No fewer than 17 tricycles and two petrol tankers were destroyed in two separate fire outbreaks at filling stations in Kano State on Tuesday.
The Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Fire Service, Saminu Abdullahi, confirmed the incidents in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to Abdullahi, the first fire occurred at AA Ayagi Filling Station in Kanye village along Gwarzo Road, Kabo Local Government Area, at about 8:45pm.
He said the fire service received a distress call at 8:45pm from a staff member, Muhammad Wada Abdulsalam, reporting a fire outbreak at the station. Firefighters from the Rijiyar Zaki division were immediately deployed to the scene.
On arrival, they found a fuel tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), owned by AA Ayagi Company and bearing registration number XPB 999 FA, engulfed in flames while offloading fuel.
Abdullahi said two compartments of the tanker had already been discharged into the underground storage tank, while three remaining compartments containing about 5,000 litres of petroleum products were still being offloaded when the fire broke out. The inferno completely destroyed the tanker truck.
The second incident occurred at Al-Wahida Nigeria Limited Filling Station, located at Rimin Kebe Karshen Kwalta in Nassarawa Local Government Area.
According to the fire service spokesperson, a petrol tanker belonging to BA Bello Company, with registration number KHX 29 XA and carrying about 45,000 litres of petroleum products, caught fire during offloading.
“The fire destroyed the tanker head, part of the tanker body and 17 tricycles popularly known as Adaidaita Sahu,” Abdullahi said.
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He added that the fire was successfully contained, preventing it from spreading further, while a portion of the petroleum products and parts of the tanker body were saved.
Meanwhile, another fire incident at Kundila Quarters near SALSA College in Kano destroyed a room, a toilet and a corridor in a residential building.
Reacting to the incidents, the Director of the Kano State Fire Service, Sani Anas, urged filling station operators and fuel tanker drivers to strictly adhere to safety regulations during fuel offloading and the handling of flammable materials.
The incident comes barely days after a fire outbreak at the Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa, Ogun State, on Sunday, which spread from an industrial facility to nearby residential areas.