A 38-year-old tanker driver, Alagbe Hezekiah, has been hailed for his bravery after risking his life to prevent a potentially catastrophic fire incident at a filling station in Iwo, Osun State in a Video obtained by The News Chronicle.
The incident occurred on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Feesu Junction along the Iwo-Ibadan Expressway, opposite Lado Filling Station.
Hezekiah, an indigene of Ogbomoso, had arrived at the filling station to supply diesel when fire suddenly erupted from the tanker after the hose had been connected for offloading.
He and his motor boy initially attempted to put out the fire using a fire extinguisher. However, the flames quickly intensified and began spreading towards the filling station, nearby shops and residential buildings.
As the situation became increasingly dangerous, his apprentice reportedly fled the scene, while Hezekiah made the decision to take control of the burning tanker.
Rather than abandoning the vehicle at the filling station, where the fire could have triggered a major explosion and endangered lives, Hezekiah climbed into the tanker and drove it away from the populated area.
He said he searched for a location without residents where the burning tanker could be taken to minimise casualties.
“I thought of what I can do to avert putting lives of many and properties at risk. I drove the vehicle out of the petrol station. I scanned the area for where there are no people living. I decided to drive to a riverbank where there will be no casualties,” Hezekiah recounted.
He said he was fully aware that the decision could cost him his life, but considered saving the lives of people around the filling station more important.
He successfully drove the burning tanker along the road until he reached an uninhabited riverbank, where he detached the truck’s head from the burning tank.
His actions prevented the fire from remaining at the filling station and potentially spreading to surrounding businesses, homes and other facilities.
Hezekiah’s courageous intervention has since drawn attention to the extraordinary risks sometimes faced by tanker drivers and other workers handling petroleum products, particularly during emergencies.
