Police say petrol station fires a serious concern

THE police in the Zambezi region yesterday strongly warned service station owners not to dispense fuel into unauthorised containers.

The warning follows an incident in which a car caught fire as a petrol attendant was filling plastic containers which were placed in the vehicle with petrol at an Engen service station at Katima Mulilo.

The attendant, Martin Matengu, was filling seven 30 and 50 litre containers with petrol when a fire broke out, causing extensive damage to one of the petrol pumps and the vehicle.

The fire was swiftly extinguished by firefighters from the Katima Mulilo Town Council and community members, thereby limiting the damage it caused. Zambezi police commissioner, Karel Theron said regular warnings to petrol station owners and members of the public not to carry fuel in unauthorised containers have fallen on deaf ears.

“Their negligence has led to this event today. This security and safety measure was not taken seriously by the service station owners as they just think of making money. This is serious setback to the service station owners as it has to close down until it is declared safe to operate,” he added.

Theron further said the law prohibits the transportation of petrol in plastic containers, although this practice was prevalent at Katima Mulilo and elsewhere.

“I would like to urge the community to use prescribed containers (metal jerrycans) to transport petrol from service stations,” Theron said, adding that he believes the fire could have been caused by friction between the containers and vehicle’s body. The petrol attendant said yesterday’s fire was the third on a car he was filling up this year.

He said in the previous two incidents, the fire was contained quickly and had minimal damage.

The car owner, Albert Lilumo told The Namibian that he had not only lost the car but also about N$9 000 with which he had bought the petrol.

“This was my first and will most probably be my last car since I don’t have money to buy another one. I feel really bad,” he said.

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