By Leonard Okachie
The owner of Aka God Petroleum Limited, Nkwoegwu, near Umuahia, Mr Chinonso Ahamefule, has put the loss suffered from last Sunday’s tanker fire conservatively at about N150 million.
Ahamefule spoke, on Monday, when the Head of the Abia Fire and Emergency Services, Mr Chukwunenye Alajemba, accompanied by top management officials of the organisation, visited the scene of the fire.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the incident occurred on June 14, when a petrol-laden tanker exploded, while discharging petrol at the service station.
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Narrating the incident, Ahamefule said his manager called and reported to him about the fire, barely 10 minutes after he left the premises.
“My manager said the tanker just caught fire without any sign.
“They were offloading petrol and within 10 minutes, fire started from under the truck.
“They tried their best, used fire extinguishers, but it didn’t stop,” Ahamefule said.
He commended the fire fighters from Abia Fire Service for their prompt response, saying that their intervention prevented a bigger disaster.
“If not for the fire service, this place would have been another zone.
“They tried to stop the fire from going far and going to the buildings here.
“They spent more than six to seven hours here.
“I really thank our governor because things are working now, especially the prompt response by the fire service,” Ahamefule said.
He said that aside from the 60,000 litres of fuel, worth over N60 million, and N70 million tanker truck that were burnt, the fire also destroyed solar panels, pumps, metres, buildings, and nearby shops.
“Only my own loss is about N150 million.
“The people within here, the shops, all of them are on my neck asking how I will repair their shops.
“One woman selling provisions lost everything – her fridge, every damn thing got burnt.”
“I don’t know where to start life again. I’m finished but I still have hope as long as I’m alive,” he said.
Ahamefula appealed to Gov. Alex Otti for his intervention, saying, “I’m begging our governor because I know he’s a listening governor and has a human heart.
“He should please come and assist so that this place can function again.”
Alajemba, who is also the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Homeland Security, said that the station received a distress call at 6:35 p.m. and deployed fire crew, which arrived by 6:50 p.m.
“The first task was to ensure the fire was contained around the petrol station and the vehicle, because it had about 45,000 litres of petrol.
“There’s a hospital here, shops, and other buildings. We stopped the fire from spreading,” Alajemba said.
He attributed the rapid response to reforms in the state’s emergency services under Otti.
“If this happened four or five years ago, everywhere here would have been burnt. That is the truth.
“But right now, because of the fire service and the ambulances stationed here, there was no casualty,” he said.
Alajemba urged residents to call the fire service directly on 09032858657 or 08133556900 for medical emergencies, instead of posting videos online.
On the owner’s request for government’s assistance, he said: “The governor is a listening one.
“He has a kind heart but he is also a man of due process.
“I’m sure he will look at their request and act accordingly.”
One of the affected shop owners, Mrs Oluchi Nwosu, whose provision shop and residence were burnt, appealed to the State Government for support.
“First of all, I thank God that no life was lost. That’s the most important thing.
“But we are homeless now. We don’t have anything, we don’t have anywhere to go.
“I’m begging the government and the governor to help us rebuild our shops, houses, the petrol station, the tanker — everything that got burnt,” she said. (NAN)
