Firefighters contain fuel truck blaze, preventing disaster
No casualties were recorded at the scene.
The swift intervention by the City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) firefighters turned a potentially catastrophic incident into a minor one after two articulated trucks and one rigid truck caught fire at a fuel truck company in Hillcrest, Benoni, on March 17.
The fire reportedly started due to welding work gone wrong, affecting one of the trucks, which was fully loaded with 40 000 litres of petrol in the main trailer and another 15 000 litres in a pup trailer, both coupled together.
According to Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson William Ntladi, the second articulated truck trailer was empty but still posed a high risk of vapor explosion.
“A rigid truck, which also caught alight, was fully loaded with 15,000 litres of petrol. The direct application of foam as an extinguishing agent suppressed the volatility of the burning petrol, and the flames were extinguished within two hours. The company yard had several trucks and fuel tanks, putting surrounding businesses at very high risk. Fortunately, no casualties were recorded at the scene,” he said.
Ntladi confirmed that the fire was caused by welding work on one of the trucks, with sparks spreading uncontrollably to nearby vehicles.
Twenty firefighters from four different fire stations across the city worked together to manage the scene, using a fleet of four fire engines.
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