Probe into gas station fire points to smoking porter

Three days after fire razed a section of the Two Brothers Service Station located in Eccles officials are close to concluding their investigations and identifying the source of the blaze.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told Sunday Stabroek yesterday that investigations had been done with the assistance of public-spirited citizens and a few eyewitnesses. Gentle said so far the investigations have revealed that the porter who was awaiting for the truck to fuel up was smoking. It is suspected that this was how the fire started. He added, however it was still unclear if the lit cigarette was dropped and made contact with the fuel or if the fuel just spread to the remains of the cigarette on the ground and engulfed it.

The porter, who fled the scene after the fire, and has not been located since.

The remains of the burnt section of the Two Brothers Service Station located at Eccles, EBD
The remains of the burnt section of the Two Brothers Service Station located at Eccles, EBD

When this newspaper visited the gas station yesterday it was not in operation but persons were doing some construction work on the damaged area.

Efforts to make contact with the owner yesterday prove futile.

The fuel truck caught fire on Wednesday evening triggering a spectacular blaze which firefighters managed to put out before it could engulf the area.

This newspaper had previously reported that the fire started at around 7.15 pm. One truck was destroyed and a tanker damaged. There were no injuries.