The refinery in question is situated on Ring Road, Kano, in the Katango neighborhood of Wailari, across from Maryam Shekarau Estate. The fire began at approximately 9:50 a.m. on Monday.
“Five residential houses were also badly touched by the raging fire, which shocked residents of the community,” a resident of the area who craved anonymity narrated.
He claimed that “the men of the Salbas Petrol Station Fire Department, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Kano State Fire Service took roughly three hours to contain the fire.
“Two children were saved from one house after their mother fled and left them inside, and an elderly woman who was unable to walk was saved from another. The fire incident took about three hours before it was put out.”
He named the deceased as Aminu, the driver of a truck that was jam-packed into the re-refinery, and said, “He was burned beyond recognition.” His burnt remains were later recovered by fire service personnel, who arrived at the scene of the incident very late.”
Ahmad Umar Gaya, personnel of the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), told a group of journalists that he was on duty along the road when he heard an explosion.
“I quickly called the attention of the Kano Fire Service and directed them to the location when I noticed wildfire coming out of the explosion site,” he said.
“The place, which is located in residential houses at Katango in Wailari, is used to stock scraps of trucks and trailers and also to refine used engine oil for other purposes.
“No one can tell what exactly happened that led to the explosion. The trailer carrying drums of used engine oil was gutted by the fire in which the driver was trapped and burned beyond recognition.
“Close to the location were residential houses with women and children, and about five houses were gutted by the inferno.”