The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Tuesday in Lagos advised filling station managers to always observe the pre-caution rules before discharging contents from fuel tankers to avoid fire outbreak.
DPR’s Head of Media Dorothy Bassey gave the advice while speaking on likely causes of fire outbreak in fuel stations.
Bassey said a fuel tanker carrying petroleum products should rest for at least one hour after arriving from depot to a filling station before its contents were discharged.
Other per-caution rules include connection of earth cable and ensuring that the fumes go out through the designated pipes.
On Jan. 29, there was a fire outbreak in one of the fuel stations in Lawanson area of Surulere in Lagos, where the fire spread to other buildings.
A correspondent, who visited the scene on Jan. 30, observed that the filling station manager and the tanker driver that brought the product had disagreement over where the fire started.
Under interrogation by DPR officials who were at the scene for assessment, the station manager said that the fire started from the tanker, while the driver said it emanated from the underground tank discharging point.
“We observed 20 minutes of rest for the tanker to settle down before we started discharging. While the products were being discharged, I was recording on paper the event, when we noticed a spark from the tanker,’’ the manager told the DPR officials.
The DPR officials in their response said that a fuel tanker must observe about two hours rest before its contents can be discharged.
They also advised fuel station operators on the need to ensure that the earth cable that controls the products fumes through outer pipes was effective.
“If the earth cable was effective, there will be no way for the fumes to come out from the discharging point,’’ the DPR officials added.
