By: Emmanuel Nlewedum
Heritage Filling Station in Rumuolumeni area of Obio Akpor Area of Rivers State was Tuesday morning gutted by fire.
The fire reportedly started after a tanker discharging petroleum product went up in flames.
However, a youth leader in community, Chukwudi Chindah has applauded the resilience of youths and residents of the area in fighting Tuesday’s inferno.
Chindah said it took efforts and timely intervention of youths and other residents of Rumuolumeni to quell the fire and avert what would have resulted to total disaster.
Nothing that part of the filling station was gutted by the inferno, he said, “the entire station would have been razed completely and even put the lives and properties of residents living around at risk, if not for the people living around”.
Chindah who noted that the state fire service was alerted via numerous phone calls immediately the incident occurred, frowned at the authority of the fire service for their delay in responding to the distress calls.
According to him, the fire service team arrived when the youths had already succeeded in fighting the inferno.
He said the fire service team were later chased by angry youths for arriving hours after they had put-off the fire.
