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CFA Commander Brett Gladki said there was a significant amount of fire under the bonnet when crews arrived following some quick thinking by the service station attendant and driver.

“They had managed to push the vehicle away from the bowsers, isolating power and fuel to the area, and had started attacking the fire with dry chemical extinguishers,” said Commander Gladki.

“It’s quite busy at that time of day with people filling up their vehicles prior to starting the day’s work, so there were a number of other people at the service station at the time so police were assisting with the evacuation and the management of bystanders.”

The fire was the second scare at a service station in as many days in Hamilton, after a car crashed through a bowser and into the service area of a different outlet on Monday.

“At about 3:45pm, volunteers responded to a car accident with possible persons trapped at a service station.

“The driver had been able to self-extricate and was later taken to hospital for observation, but when crews arrived the bowser was still sitting on the bonnet of the vehicle within the structure itself with a significant amount of fuel spillage around.”

Commander Gladki said the car had also just missed a storage area with 9kg gas cylinders on the way through, as well as a storage area containing batteries.

“There’s always a threat of fire or explosion when these things happen. The mixture of sparks and fuel isn’t a good combination so the emergency shutoff procedures were employed and those risks were soon eliminated.

Commander Gladki said the two incidents are a reminder that the role of CFA firefighters extends far beyond the bushfires and grass fires that are seen throughout the summer period.

“Incidents like these with flammable fuels or gasses that could potentially involve casualties show that we need to be able to combat a wide variety of incidents.”