Cooking in the truck is prohibited at many trucking companies and rightfully so, because the dangers that it may bring are real.
As shown in a video that has been released by Amalgamated Bulk, where their truck almost caught fire when a gas stove exploded while the driver was cooking.
The gas stove explodes in the first second of the video causing big flames to come out from its neck throughout the 30-second video. Luckily, the flames do not reach anything, which would have caused the truck to catch fire, and continues to burn.
According to a report by the driver, which SA Trucker had sight of, a security officer who noticed the fire rushed to extinguish it before it could cause any damage.
The driver reported that he was waiting for his load code on Sunday around 08h15 at Dwarsrivier mine at the truck park area when he took the opportunity to cook.
“As I was cooking, my gas stove developed a fault with the adjuster resulting in big flames. As it happened the security officer nearby rushed and sprayed the stove with a fire extinguisher,” he stated.
Watch also: Driver hospitalized after mysterious explosion in truck at Beitbridge – video
Why cooking in the truck is dangerous
Truck drivers risk their health and life when they cook in the truck cab. Chief amongst the dangers of cooking in the truck is the inhalation of toxic gases.
When cooking in the cab, the gases released from the burning fire hang around the truck and you end up inhaling them which poses a great health risk.
This is inevitable because you can’t open all the windows to allow enough ventilation as this may also cause the wind from outside to blow the flames away from the pot. Hence, when cooking in the truck cab, drivers leave little to know ventilation at all.
Given that rest time is limited for most of our truckers, there is the risk of sleeping while cooking in the cab which can also lead to unfortunate incidents because the fire is not monitored.
If for any reason, the burner is not tightly attached to the gas bottle, flames can start escaping from the neck causing big flames that can burn anything on contact or even cause an explosion.
Because of very tight schedules, drivers sometimes don’t have time to stop and cook, so they risk and do it whilst driving. This is a major fire hazard.
Another deadly risk posed by gas bottles is the leakage when it’s not tightly closed after use. If the gas leaks while you are asleep, it’s been reported that it will kill you in your sleep as it weakens your body gradually as you take it in until you die.
A few years back a truck driver was killed this way at his company premises while sleeping. His body was discovered hours after he had demised. Investigations revealed that his cooking gas was leaking gradually.
