Safety conditions at petrol and automobile service stations across the country might be reviewed by the authorities. The government is setting up a committee to study the condition of petrol and service stations. The move follows a massive explosion which took place in a fuel storage tank at a service station in the city early on Wednesday morning. The incident left a bus and car, which were refuelling there, partly damaged. Some labourers who were being transported to their work site in the bus, suffered minor injuries. Some shops in the vicinity of the tank were also damaged, albeit slightly. The explosion, an Interior Ministry source told Al Sharq, did not take place due to any laxity in safety measures. Rather, it was a freak accident. Nevertheless, plans are afoot to have a panel in place which would assess the need to review the condition of the existing fuel storage tanks at petrol and service stations and see if they could be reconstructed, if the need be, the source said. The proposed committee will have experts and work under Qatar Petroleum (QP). It will have representatives from the Interior Ministry and other government agencies as well. The Civil Defence Department, which is a part of the Interior Ministry, monitors safety conditions at fuel stations. It is studying the conditions and assessing if they need to be improved. It is likely that regular monitoring of fuel storage tanks would be done. Meanwhile, there have been 478 incidents of fire in the country so far this year. At least two people have died in these incidents and eight have suffered serious injuries. Some 26 incidents of fire have taken place in homes, 99 in vehicles and 43 in commercial establishments other than industrial units. Some 30 industrial units have reported fires, while nine farm houses and two ships were also involved in incidents of fire. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=October2009&file=Local_News200910171252.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar