In a freak mishap, the fire broke out at a fuel station near the District Collector’s office here on Friday morning. A fuel pump was completely gutted in the incident. District Fire Officer S.M. Jeelani said the mishap could have occurred due to radiation from a cellphone, but this has to be probed further.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Guntur West, M. Saritha said that personnel at Bharat Petroleum outlet at Nagarampalam have been testing the fuel dispensing unit after refuelling was done. CCTV recordings showed one of the staffers collecting petrol in a bucket when two persons on a motorcycle drove into the fuel station.
After the staff told them that it would take some more time for them to dispense fuel, one of them took out his cellphone and began speaking. Suddenly, a burst of fire emanated from the bucket, and after a staffer tried to douse the flames with sand, the fuel spilled on the hose, pipes and the dispensing unit, reducing them to ashes.
Fire fighting personnel used foam to douse the flames. The DFO said that no person should be allowed inside the fuel station when the refuelling was being done. He said that preliminary investigation showed that the fire could have been caused by radiation from the cellphone.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Guntur West, M. Saritha said that personnel at Bharat Petroleum outlet at Nagarampalam have been testing the fuel dispensing unit after refuelling was done. CCTV recordings showed one of the staffers collecting petrol in a bucket when two persons on a motorcycle drove into the fuel station.
After the staff told them that it would take some more time for them to dispense fuel, one of them took out his cellphone and began speaking. Suddenly, a burst of fire emanated from the bucket, and after a staffer tried to douse the flames with sand, the fuel spilled on the hose, pipes and the dispensing unit, reducing them to ashes.
Fire fighting personnel used foam to douse the flames. The DFO said that no person should be allowed inside the fuel station when the refuelling was being done. He said that preliminary investigation showed that the fire could have been caused by radiation from the cellphone.