EMERGENCY services investigating the Maddington petrol tanker explosion have described it as a "lucky escape'' from a potentially fatal disaster.
FESA continue to investigate the cause of yesterday’s fuel tanker explosion, which sent a massive fireball into the sky when a petrol tanker exploded as it was filling an underground tank at a service station on Albany Highway.
Homes had to be evacuated and local roads and shops closed as a massive fireball shot into the air while a tanker was stationed at the Caltex-Woolworths fuel outlet about 1.45pm on Friday.
Picture Gallery: Amazing images from the petrol blast
Homes had to be evacuated and local roads and shops closed as a massive fireball shot into the air while a tanker was stationed at the Caltex-Woolworths fuel outlet about 1.45pm on Friday.
Picture Gallery: Amazing images from the petrol blast
FESA operational services officer Paul Ryan said the exact cause of the blaze was yet to be determined.
“At this stage, we can ascertain that during the driver transferring unleaded petrol from the tanker to the ground tanks, there was some sort of ignition, and the fire commenced,” he said.
Officers from FESA’s Fire Investigation Unit, Arson Squad, and the Dangerous Goods Division of the Department of Minerals and Petroleum were working to determine the cause of the fire.
Mr Ryan said crews from Maddington Fire Service and Welshpool were first on the scene to treat the initial fire, before a massive fireball shot out when the fuel tank ruptured.
“On arrival, the guys found some tyres had started to ignite and some of the fuel areas around the garage had started to burn, so they started to cool the tank,” he said.
“The tank started to bulge a little bit and started pressurising, (and) the guys then backed off from that area.
“The side of the tanker which was facing the service station then ruptured.”
Mr Ryan praised the efforts of the fire crews at the scene in placing water on the side of the tank to keep the strength of the aluminium in place, preventing further damage.
“If they hadn’t have done that, there was a possibility it may have failed, and taken some of our crews… so it was very good fire fighting by our personnel,” he said.
“If they hadn’t done such a good job, we would be looking at something quite different, with the possibility that all the tanks could have ruptured.
“It was very lucky we didn’t have anybody lost.”
The fireball erupted after two of the tanker’s six compartments failed due to the initial fire, affecting 15,000 litres of the 40,000 litres of unleaded petrol on board.
Mr Ryan said the tanker’s driver was “very shocked and upset” but not injured in the blaze.
The fire is estimated to have caused $2 million damage.
Despite initial fears affected wastewater would seep into nearby rivers, Mr Ryan said environmental teams had set up a small dam soaking system to ensure the Canning River would not be affected.
The environmental cleanup will continue throughout Saturday.
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