Firefighters in Bayelsa State have issued a safety warning to residents regarding capturing videos with phones following a tanker fire on Sunday near Okaki Junction on the Akenfa axis of Yenagoa, the state capital.
Nelson Meeting, a firefighter who led the fire service crew in bringing the blaze under control, saw that onlookers filming the fire did not give them enough area to work and urged for a change. He also stated that radiation from phones was detrimental in such a setting.
He said that the firefighters came as soon as they got the distress call, but other road users did not give them right of way even though they were using sirens.
"They don't know that even video recording 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 warned.
A victim identified as Smart Okhwo, who is from the Ofoni community in the state's Sagbama local government area, described his ordeal, saying that the fire began when a tanker carrying petroleum products somersaulted at a police checkpoint and caught fire, spreading 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, was already destroyed by the time the fire service got there.
He said goods belonging to some of his tenants who had shops in his house were burnt down in 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 run away. They were stopping the tanker by using a keke (Tricycle)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."
Meanwhile, reacting to the cause of the inferno, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Musa Mohammed, said it was not true that the policemen were the cause of the accident that led to the fire outbreak and that it was just an allegation.
He said the tanker failed its brake and the driver lost control and hit the Tricycle (keke,) but the keke driver escaped and jumped into the nearby Epie Creek, a community in that area, where he was later rescued.
Complied by Okem Green Mbah, Yenagoa
