Dubai: A van waiting in a petrol station queue caught fire twice before the blaze was brought under control by petrol pump attendants the first time and Dubai Civil Defence the second time.
There were no reports of any casualties and the cause of the fire is still unclear.
The fire broke out inside the vehicle at an Emarat petrol station but did not spread to the petrol station, said Hussain Kazim, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at Emarat.
He said that smoke was coming out of the vehicle while it was in the queue before it caught fire. The petrol pump attendants then rushed with fire extinguishers to put it out before it spread to other cars and the petrol station.
“The quick response by our trained staff prevented what could have been a disaster from happening at one of our Emarat petrol stations in Dubai. When the fire erupted, our staff surrounded the vehicle and put it out using the fire extinguishers available at the station,” he said.
Another team then evacuated the area and prevented other cars from accessing the petrol station until the fire was fully put off, he added.
Kazim said the staff managed to take the vehicle outside the petrol station before it caught fire one more time. “It was a surprise that the fire ignited again after it was extinguished, but this is when a firefighting team from the Dubai Civil Defence rushed to the scene and put it out.”
He pointed out that during the peak of the summer and with increased temperatures, cars are more likely to catch fire, especially if the vehicles are not well maintained or given to garages where mechanics fix fake spare parts and counterfeit wiring systems.
He also called on the public to ensure that their cars are maintained in good garages that have good maintenance standards and to avoid using fake spare parts.
He said it is important for motorists to follow safety tips when refuelling their cars like not using their mobile phones in petrol stations, switching off the car engine, not smoking, making sure not to drive off while the petrol pump hose is still attached to the car, and to avoid leaving the vehicle behind while shopping at the petrol pump supermarket.
