A petroleum and cooking gas filling station along the Bukuru Expressway, popularly known as Chill Cherry, burst into flames on Thursday morning, causing panic among residents and motorists in Jos, Plateau State.
The affected filling station is located near Gyoro Roundabout, a few miles from Jos South Local Government Secretariat.
Till the time of writing the news, the cause of the fire could not be known.
Eyewitnesses said there were no firefighters at the scene in the initial phase of the incident, as filling station staff were seen working tirelessly to control the raging flames.
Customers and passersby reportedly fled the area in fear of their lives, given that the station also operates a cooking gas outlet.
It was noted that the fire reportedly broke out around a major underground petroleum discharge tank, raising concerns over the potential scale of the damage.
“We saw the fire just this morning,” said a passerby, who identified himself as Maman.
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview with BusinessDay, the spokesperson for the Federal Fire Service in Plateau State, CSF EE Anjolo, said that state firefighters were already on the ground. “People from the Plateau State Fire Service are on the ground to handle the situation,” he said.
BusinessDay reports that the quick response of emergency responders underscores the growing synergy between federal and state fire service agencies in managing emergencies and protecting life and property across the state.
