Three firefighters with the FCT Fire Service sustained varying degrees of injuries while battling a fire outbreak at the AYM Shafa filling station in Area 3, Garki, Abuja, on Thursday night.
The service’s Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Muhammad, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.
Muhammad said the fire started after a petrol-laden tanker exploded at the filling station. He said the service received a distress call about the incident at about 9:44 p.m. and immediately deployed personnel and firefighting equipment to the scene.
Due to the magnitude of the fire, other emergency agencies joined the operation, resulting in a coordinated inter-agency response.
Muhammad said three firefighters were injured while working to contain the blaze, with one of them receiving intensive treatment at the Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, Abuja. The other two injured personnel were taken to Alliance Hospital in Area 11, Garki, for medical attention.
He said the cause of the fire was still under investigation, urging members of the public to avoid speculation and await the outcome of the official inquiry.
A preliminary assessment, according to the fire service spokesman, showed that the blaze affected the filling station and adjoining structures.
He disclosed that a tanker carrying about 45,000 litres of petroleum products was engulfed by the fire, while three of the station’s 13 fuel dispensing pumps were directly affected.
Two civilian vehicles were also completely burnt, while parts of the Federal Revenue Service office and sections of the adjoining Ahmad Plaza, a two-storey commercial building, were affected.
Muhammad commended the firefighters and other emergency personnel for their bravery and professionalism, saying their prompt response helped prevent a potentially larger disaster.
He also urged operators of filling stations and other commercial facilities to comply strictly with fire safety regulations, maintain firefighting equipment regularly and report emergencies promptly.
The Director of the FCT Fire Service, Adebayo Zacchaeus, expressed concern over the injured firefighters and called on the public to pray for their recovery.
Zacchaeus reaffirmed the service’s commitment to protecting lives and property through rapid emergency response, public education and enforcement of fire safety standards.
The firefighting operation was supervised by the Federal Fire Service Controller General, Olumode Samuel, alongside the FCT Fire Service Director and other emergency and rescue personnel.
