Firefighters in Bayelsa State have issued a safety warning to residents about taking video recordings with phones after a tanker fire incident on Sunday near Okaki Junction at Akenfa axis of Yenagoa, the state capital.
Nelson Meeting, a firefighter who led the fire service crew to control the inferno, observed that onlookers who were recording videos of the fire did not give them enough room to work, calling for a change of attitude. He also warned that radiation from phones is dangerous in such a situation.
He said that the firefighters came as soon as they got the distress call, but other road users did not give them the right of way despite the fact that they were using siren.
“They don’t know that even videoing is dangerous because of the radiation from the phone. Next time, they should give way and allow firefighters to do their job. They should follow instructions from the firefighters,” Meeting stated.
Narrating his ordeal, a victim identified as Smart Okhwo, who hails from Ofoni community in Sagbama local government area of the state, said that the fire started when the tanker laden with a petroleum product somersaulted at a police checkpoint and caught fire which spread to the surrounding houses and shops.
He blamed the police for the incident, adding that his house, including a PoS Kiosk his son was operating, were already destroyed by the time the fire fighters got to the scene.
He said goods belonging to some of his tenants who had shops in his house were burnt down by the fire and commended those who carried out rescue efforts before the arrival of the fire service.
“The serious thing is that it was caused by Police. Now, they have ran away. They were stopping the tanker by using a keke to block the way. The driver tried to dodge the keke, so he climbed the pavement. That was when the tanker did a somersault. The next thing was fire.
“That was how it happened. So, government should come and intervene, especially for my tenants and those people who are doing business. During the packing of the things, you know how Nigeria is, most of the people came to rescue the things, but a lot of properties were lost.”
However, reacting to the cause of the inferno, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Musa Mohammed, said it was not true that policemen were the cause of the accident that led to the fire outbreak.
He said the tanker failed its brake and the driver lost control and hit a tricycle, but the Keke driver escaped and jumped into the nearby Epie Creek where he was later rescued.
