The intervention of the Mayor of Onitsha South Local Government Area, Chief Emeka Orji, averted what could have been a major tanker explosion in the commercial hub of Anambra State on Thursday.
The incident occurred opposite Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, when a tanker laden with petroleum products and heading towards Awka suddenly lost control.
The 40-foot tanker, heavily loaded with fuel, fell off the Onitsha-Awka Expressway and capsized while trying to negotiate its route.
It took the quick intervention of the Mayor of Onitsha South Local Government Area, Chief Emeka Orji, who ordered personnel of the newly commissioned fire service at Fegge to respond.
The personnel were prompt in their response and were able to avert the imminent explosion.
An eyewitness told our reporter that the tanker was heavily loaded with petroleum products and was trying to negotiate onto the major expressway when it lost control and crashed.
“Most people were still coming to open their shops when it happened, and there was a stampede because we were expecting an explosion. But God saved us, and we thank the Mayor of Onitsha South Local Government for the construction of the first fire service station in Onitsha because they were on time to stop the explosion from happening,” the eyewitness said.
Keke operators who were at the scene of the incident recalled that there were commuter vehicles that had just left the spot before the tanker crashed, adding that had those vehicles still been there, it would have been a completely different story.
Speaking on the intervention, the Mayor of Onitsha South Local Government Area, Chief Emeka Orji, described the incident as an act of God, noting that since the construction and commissioning of the first fire service station in Onitsha, his personnel had not had the opportunity to render emergency services.
According to him, the incident marked the first major emergency response by the facility, describing it as its “first baptism of fire and official dis-virgining.”
“When we recovered that government land that had been taken away by private individuals, people were after us, but we won the case. Then, observing that Onitsha had no fire service or a functional firefighting facility, we decided to build one and commissioned it for operations.
“Today, that futuristic move has paid off because we would have contacted the one in Awka or Asaba in Delta State as usual. And you know that before they would get here, a lot of damage must have been done,” Orji said.
Orji thanked the officials and men of the Fegge Fire Service for their quick response and also expressed appreciation to Governor Charles Soludo for the support his administration provided to the council during the construction of the fire service station.
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