Petrol station erupts in a blaze after ‘motorbike catches fire while the rider was parked at the pumps’
- A petrol station erupted into flames after a motorbike caught fire at the pump
- Staff and customers fled in terror as the inferno engulfed the forecourt
- The blaze left extensive damage to fuel pumps and the Esso petrol station roof
- The fire is being as an accident as locals issue warnings about fuel pump safety
A terrifying fire engulfed an Esso petrol station after a motorcycle erupted in flames while the rider was parked at the pumps to refuel.
Flames shot into the air after the bike caught fire and spread to the pump which was still receiving fuel from the storage tanks under the ground, it is understood.
Dark smoke billowed in the sky as the inferno engulfed the forecourt, forcing staff and customers to flee in terror.
Mother-of-four Jordan Brown recalls her children ‘screaming and shaking’ as they ran for their lives after a huge fireball hurled at their car door.
The Brown family narrowly escaped with Ms Brown alleging firefighters told her ‘had it been any longer, the car and the rest of the place would have gone up’ in flames.
It is not yet clear how the bike caught fire while it was being fuelled at the garage in Washington on Tyneside, but fire crews say they had to cut the supply of fuel to the blazing pump before the site could be fully evacuated.
Fire bosses are treating the blaze as an accident.
Locals have since taken to social media to issue warnings about not using mobile phones or smoking while filling up at the pump.
A fire exploded at an Esso petrol station in Washington on Tuesday after a motorcycle erupted in flames while the rider was parked at the pumps to refuel. Dark smoke billowed in the sky as the inferno engulfed the forecourt, forcing staff and customers to flee in terror
Flames shot into the air after the bike caught fire and spread to the pump which was still receiving fuel from the storage tanks under the ground, it is understood
Motorists could not believe their eyes as they drove past the Esso forecourt in Heworth Road, Washington, at 3.26pm on Tuesday.
Firefighters spent 30 minutes battling the blaze as they isolated the petrol pump involved to avert an even more serious incident.
They called for reinforcements from Tyne and Wear Fire Service and the fire was brought under control.
The inferno was put out at 3.56pm following the attendance of two appliances at the scene with the cause of the blaze thought to be accidental.
Shocking images taken after the blaze was extinguished reveal the business was left a smoking ruin.
There is extensive external damage to fuel pumps and the petrol station roof.
Images taken after the blaze was extinguished reveal the business was left a smoking ruin
The blaze left extensive external damage to fuel pumps and the petrol station roof
It is not yet clear how the machine caught fire while it was being fuelled at the garage in Washington on Tyneside, but fire crews say they had to cut the supply of fuel to the blazing pump before the site could be fully evacuated
The fire service said: ‘Our crews responded to a fire at Esso Petrol Station on Heworth Road in Washington following a call at 15.26pm. Two appliances attended the scene.
‘There were reports of a motorbike on fire. Our crews isolated the fuel device before evacuating the petrol station.
‘The incident concluded at 15.56pm. The cause of the fire is thought to be accidental.’
The petrol station has been closed and it is not yet clear when it will reopen to the public.
ExxonMobile, Esso’s parent company, had not responded to MailOnline’s request for comment at the time of publication.
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