Heroes step in to save Faversham petrol station from blazing lorry
by Lauren Fruen
lfruen@thekmgroup.co.uk
Two have-a-go-heroes stepped in to save Faversham from a
potentially deadly fire after a blazing lorry pulled into a petrol
station.
Off duty policeman Neal Wilson and garage worker Travis Walsh
both rushed to put out the flames from the truck which had pulled
into the garage in Canterbury Road.
Mr Wilson was driving along Canterbury Road when he spotted the
burning HGV in the busy forecourt.
Seeing the flames just yards from petrol
pumps he rushed to the scene and helped to put out the fire.
He said: “People were shouting and panicking. They were saying
to the driver ‘What have you done? This is a petrol garage’.
“We were coming back from shopping in Sittingbourne and we were
about five cars behind the lorry. It was smoking as it went along
the A2 at Teyhnam and I saw it pull in at the garage.
“As we drove past I saw flames and I just thought ‘Oh God,
that’s a petrol station’.
"There were four or five cars at the garage and I just thought I
needed to put it out before something happens. It was 10ft from the
pumps.”
“At the time I just wanted to help put it out, but looking back
afterwards you think about how bad it could have been.
"All it takes is one spark and it could have been a lot
worse.”
"The adrenaline just took over but when I got home I realised how much worse it could have been" – petrol station hero Travis Walsh
Fellow hero Travis
Walsh was in the stock room when he first heard screams of
'fire'.
He said: “I heard someone come into the shop shouting fire. I
thought they were messing about.
"I looked out to the forecourt and realised the lorry was
smoking and I saw flames.
“I just reacted the way I have been trained. I made sure
everybody was safe and put out the flames.
"We shut off all of the pumps. The adrenaline just took over but
when I got home I realised how much worse it could have been.”
Fire crews attended the scene on Saturday, and the incident is
being treated as an accident. No injuries were reported. The garage
was shut for two hours.
16/01/13
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