In an interview with The Point yesterday, Jad Massry, deputy manager of the company, said it was an unfortunate incident at the Petrol Station, though there is no much information to know exactly what happened but what the CCTV camera footage has shown is that the pump that was supplying the taxi driver fell over because the driver drove off while the pistol was still inside the tank.
According to him, a lot of talks have been going with people saying different stories. “Some were saying that the driver was trying to escape because he didn’t want to pay. Some are saying he left the hand brake down but until this morning when we watched the CCTV, we found out that it was just an unfortunate accident. The driver paid the pump attendant and was waiting for his change and when he got his change he assumed that the supply was done so he drove off without realising that the pistol was still inside the tank supplying fuel for his taxi and that pulled the fuel dispenser out and caused the spark when it fell down and ignited fire.
He added that because of panic, instead of using the fire extinguishers to limit the fire, they all panicked and ran away causing the fire to spread much more than it should have which damaged the two petrol pumps, all electronics and the lights. He, however, said that he has peace of mind because there was no explosion and nobody got hurt or injured.
Outlining some of the public health measures and regulations, Ramatoulie said “if you are at a Petrol Station, you need to abide by the rules and regulations and these includes people need to listen to the pump attendant, turn your car off while filling petrol at the station, no usage of mobile phones and no smoking, for these are basic public health rules to adhere as they are there for good purposes.”
“Us as a company, we have to take all the precautionary measures and the public as well, they need to help us to make sure that these measures are put in place and are effective. If not, we all failing each other. Do not use your mobile phones, do not smoke while at the premises and when taking off, drive slowly,” she advised.
