A car burst into flames outside a busy Darwin service station on Saturday, with dramatic vision showing thick smoke billowing from the vehicle as bystanders and crews worked to extinguish the blaze.
Emergency services attended the incident at the Shell service station on Roystonea Ave, Yarrawonga about 10:00am.
It is understood traffic was diverted from the area while emergency crews brought the fire under control.
Before emergency crews arrived on the scene, Darwin resident Raymond Chard alongside other members of the public managed to access the service station’s fire hose and help hose around the fuel bowsers before they could catch fire.
Mr Chard said the fire was relatively under control before emergency services arrived on the scene.
“I had to quickly get some tools out of the back of my car,” he said.
“I smashed the padlocks open to get to the hose to try to help wet the bowsers and spread water around there.
“At that stage, there were no police, no fire fighters or anything and we had it pretty contained when police and firemen turned up.
“Nobody was hurt, there was more concern for the service station igniting.”
A worker at the service station, who was not on shift when the fire started, said they understood the driver had not been refuelling when the vehicle caught alight.
The worker said the blaze appeared to be extinguished within 10 to 15 minutes.
No injuries were believed to have been reported and it is not yet clear what caused the fire.
NT Police have been contacted for comment.
Extracted in full from: https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/car-bursts-into-flames-metres-from-fuel-bowsers-at-darwin-service-station/news-story/e1709bae89b05efc56335843df8753ff
