08.MAR.07

Antigua – A quick-thinking cesspool truck operator prevented major disaster Monday morning after he emptied effluent from his truck to douse a fire which broke out at the Shell Service Station at Manor Park in St Andrew.

The fire broke out as a customer filled a container with gasolene. A Toyota Hilux pickup truck was partially damaged while a gas pump was destroyed by the blaze.{{more}}

“A customer was filling a container and somehow fire broke out. The man dropped the hose and ran,” Monique Rose, a member of staff, said, “The man with the truck came and contain the fire until the fire truck came.”

The customer, whose van was damaged in the incident, said the fire started at the handle of the gas pump. The back of the vehicle was completely burnt while the engine and front half escaped the wrath of the flames.

The operator of the truck, which belongs to Allied Cesspool Emptiers, was across the street emptying a septic pit when the fire broke out.

“Mi couldn’t make it burn down,” Daniel Dawkins, owner of the unit, said.

Dawkins and his colleague, Lester Simpson, were praised for their actions.

“They prevented a major disaster from happening. If it were not for them the damage would be far worse,” added another person who said he witnessed the incident.

Fire services liaison officer, Emelio Ebanks said yesterday the firemen had not yet determined the cause of the fire.

“I think we might have more answers on Monday,” Ebanks told the Observer.