A REDAN Petroleum filling station in Bulawayo was yesterday afternoon gutted by fire following an explosion allegedly triggered by a disconnected hose which splashed fuel that was ignited by sparks from a welding machine that was being used a few metres away.
The filling station is located at the corner of 5th Avenue and Main Street near Unity Village Flea Market. A fuel tanker which was offloading fuel at the filling station was reduced to a shell while another tanker had its horse also completely burnt.
No one was hurt in the fire and the stampede that followed. Searing heat kept firefighters and the huge crowd that had come to watch, at bay. A plume of thick, black smoke billowed from the inferno, casting a shadow over the eastern side of much of the central business district.
Witnesses commended the Bulawayo Fire Brigade for responding swiftly to put out the fire before it could affect buildings around the filling station.
Mr Mathius Ncube, one of the welders who allegedly started the fire, said they were trying to renovate part of the drainage system at the filling station when a splash of fuel from the tanker was ignited.
“We were welding a part of the drainage in the filling station while the tanker was offloading fuel and accidentally drops splashed near the welding machine. Flames sprouted near the machine and quickly spread towards the fuel truck. I ran away and left the machine,” said Mr Ncube.
