Just in time: Catastrophic fire averted at Lalak Chowk

Driver moves the burning <br /> vehicle away from the fuel station.

LAHORE: Two major fire incidents took place in the city on Monday. The first took place at around 12:15pm in the basement of Central Model School on Ratigan Road, which had been rented out to the Election Commission of Pakistan as a storage room. The second took place in a fuel tanker parked at a petrol station at Lalak Chowk, Defence House Authority. Rescue-1122 officials said that an oil tanker was in the middle of pumping fuel to the main underground oil tank at the fuel station in the afternoon when it caught fire.

Rescue-1122 Spokesperson Jam Sajid said they received the first call about the fire at around 3:45pm. Four fire brigades, a water bowser and an ambulance were rushed to the scene.

Flames engulfed an oil tanker at a petrol station at Lalak Chowk on Monday. It was put out by fire fighters. PHOTO: ABID NAWAZ/EXPRESS

Cantonment Superintendent Nadeem Khokar said the driver of the oil tanker managed to drive the tanker away from the fuel station. He parked the tanker a few metres away next to a construction site on Lalak Chowk. He said it appeared as if the fire had erupted due to the use of mobile phones at the petrol station. Khokar commended the driver’s courage in driving away a burning fuel truck and said he had averted a major fire hazard.

Sajjad said that the fire fighting squad managed to put out the fire in the tanker after hectic efforts for an hour. He said more than 24,000 litres of petrol had gone up in flames and the tanker had burned down completely.

The Rescue-1122 spokesperson said that the cooling mechanism at the fuel station had been damaged. The walls and sign boards at the front of the fuel station’s mart were burnt as well.

Flames engulfed an oil tanker at a petrol station at Lalak Chowk on Monday. It was put out by fire fighters. PHOTO: ABID NAWAZ/EXPRESS

Sajjad said that no one was reported injured in the incident. Timely action on the part of the driver had averted a possible tragedy.

Separately, Central Model School’s administration said that children and staff were evacuated as soon as the fire broke out. A fire brigade and relevant officers of the provincial election commission rushed to the scene. The fire was put out after an hour. The ECP spokesperson said that stationery, spare forms and cloth bags had been kept at the storage room. Investigations are under way to determine the cause of the fire.

Central Model School Principal Liaquat Ali Kharil told The Express Tribune that the basement was rented out to the election commission for past few years. “Everything stored in the basement belonged to the ECP... the school administration was not involved in it,” he said.

Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan has instructed the EDO to submit a report on the incident as soon as possible.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2014.