The heat from the fire, whose cause is still unknown, was so intense it could be felt some 200 metres from the scene, sending motorists into a panic. Burning were thousands of oil containers - from the small 500 ml tins to the big 200-litre drums and it took a combined team of Gaborone City Council firefighters from the main station and the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Botswana Police and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), who arrived a little later. Oil flowed onto the street and into the storm water drainage system en route to the Notwane River, which feeds into the Gaborone Dam, immediately becoming a big environmental hazard.
In the morning a number of little birds that had mistaken the oil for water hopped by, drenched in the oil. One bird lover was seen with a bird in hand, trying to wash the oil off its feathers.
"The problem is that water was used to douse the fire, and water is not good for putting out such fires as oil floats on the water," said Willie Buitendag whose company Rapid Spill Response was immediately called from South Africa to assist in cleaning the spilt oil.
"We have two contractors cleaning the storm water system. We aim to recover as much of the spill as is possible by Sunday," he said. By Saturday noon, cleaning chemicals were being off-loaded. Buitendag said that they arrived just in time to arrest the spillage before it could get into the river.
