Residents of Ibadan were jolted awake by chaos on Sunday morning after a raging fire tore through a filling station, destroying a petrol tanker and underground fuel tanks in a terrifying blaze.
The incident happened at SAO Petroleum Station in the Oyo State capital, where a MACK tanker loaded with about 45,000 litres of petrol (PMS) went up in flames alongside two underground storage tanks. Several other properties, reportedly worth millions of naira, were also lost to the inferno.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Service, Hon. Maroof Akinwande, revealed that firefighters arrived to find the tanker and fuel tanks already fully engulfed.
According to him, the situation demanded urgent and coordinated action. Firefighters from the Oyo State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, and multiple private fire brigades battled the blaze for hours, deploying foam chemical compounds and advanced techniques to prevent the fire from escalating into a much larger disaster.
Police officers from the Eleyele Police Headquarters were also on ground, providing security cover throughout the operation.
Akinwande noted that the intense firefighting effort eventually brought the flames under control, averting what could have been a catastrophic explosion in the densely populated area.
While no casualties were immediately reported, the incident has reignited concerns about fuel safety, tanker operations, and emergency preparedness in urban centres.
For Ibadan residents nearby, it was a harsh reminder of how quickly an ordinary morning can turn into a scene of fire and fear. 🚒🔥
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