Fire guts 2 copra trucks in Tayabas gas station

LUCENA CITY, Philippines – Two ten-wheeler trucks loaded with “palyat” (copra cake for animal feeds) caught fire on Sunday morning while parked inside a gas station compound along the Maharlika Highway in Tayabas City, police said.

Senior Police Officer Fred Almonte, Tayabas police investigator, said the cargo inside one of the trucks suddenly ignited at around 7:30 a.m.

Almonte said the blaze reached the other truck that was also parked adjacent to the burning vehicle.

Several fire trucks from nearby towns rushed to the scene to help put off the fire so as not to trigger the explosion of petroleum tanks inside the Shell station in Barangay Calumpang.

“The palyat could have ignited due to extreme heat inside the truck,” Almonte said over the phone.

As of this writing, the firemen were still fighting to put off the fire.