Man taken to hospital after car blaze but garage staff praised

But quick-thinking staff at the Shell Garage on Hatfield Avenue managed to avert a much more serious accident yesterday afternoon.

Passers-by reported that the car appeared to be suffering engine problems as it pulled onto the forecourt of the garage.

Firefighters say that the car was smoking and a small fire had started which was starting to develop.

But a more serious incident was averted, say firefighters by the quick thinking actions of a passerby and member of staff who pushed the car to safety away from the petrol pumps.

While staff member Christopher Blythe pushed the car away from the public forecourt, garage manager Samantha Jones switched off the pumps as a safety measure.

Crew Manager Tom Robinson from Fleetwood Fire Station said: “If it wasn’t for the quick thinking actions of the staff member and the member of public this would have been a much larger incident.

“When we arrived the car had already been pushed to the side of the forecourt away from the petrol pumps.

“If it had been left three or four minutes longer, the fire would have involved the Shell garage canopy which would have taken a lot more in terms of resources to bring under control.

“Thankfully the staff member had received training in what to do in this kind of emergency, although she’d never had to use it in her 17 years of work.

“We used a hose reel and two firefighters in breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire.

“We think the fire may have been caused by a fault with the fuel line.”

Andrew Cotton, area manager for Pearl Forecourts, which runs the garage, said: “The staff at Fleetwood acted gallantly, their training showed through.

“They undoubtedly prevented the situation being a whole lot worse.”

Ambulance services say the owner of the car was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for precautionary checks.