Alert workers at the Rubis gas station on Vlissingen Road managed to control a fire that ignited on a drum that was on a truck that stopped for refuelling on Monday night.
According to Fire Chief Marlon Gentle, the cause of the fire has been identified as static electricity. He said it started because the drum was plastic and not safe for refuelling.
Gentle added that it was fortunate that the staff took proper action and was able to contain the fire or the outcome could have been worse. No one was injured.
Steve Chung, a company adviser, told Stabroek News that he was present at the station at around 7:30PM on Monday when he heard screams from his workers that a fire had started on a truck.
He then went to enquire and saw one of the drums that was on the truck engulfed in flames. Workers present quickly extinguished the fire by using a fire extinguisher that was nearby.
Chung said the drum was thrown off the truck and spilt gas led to a nearby ice cooler being burnt. He too said it was fortunate that the cooler was the only item damaged and he said it would be replaced today.
Chung also suspected that static electricity was the cause of the fire. He explained that the drums that were being loaded are the type that attracts static electricity. He added that just about one month ago the company started to sell a high octane gas which is very volatile, since it is high performance, and any little spark could ignite a fire.
At the time of the fire, he noted, no one was smoking or using a cellphone that could have caused the fire.
The incident was second time a gas station experienced such issues in two weeks. A section of the Two Brothers Service Station, located at Eccles, East Bank Demerara, was damaged on April 22 due to a similar incident.
