The situation after the fire at a waste facility near Stara Zagora is completely under control and there is no evidence of increased air pollution, regional governor Kaloyan Damyanov told journalists.
According to him, yesterday was a critical day, as the institutions received numerous signals from citizens. Throughout the night, teams from the Regional Directorate “Fire Safety and Population Protection“ worked at the scene to control the fire.
“We have no evidence of increased air pollution from the mobile station, which was sent by the Ministry of Environment and Water. "I would like to reassure the citizens of Stara Zagora District that the situation is completely under control," Damyanov said.
The Director of the Regional Directorate "Fire Safety and Population Protection" in Stara Zagora, Stoyan Kolev, explained that several factors complicated the fire extinguishing. Among them are the strong wind and the low pressure in the water supply network in the area of the base, which necessitated the provision of water by trucking. "This required eight teams from our structures," he said, thanking the Municipality of Stara Zagora for the two water carriers provided, as well as the people from the neighboring bases who promptly moved cars and other potentially dangerous materials from the area of the fire.
A bulldozer was also provided to contain the fire, with the help of which a clearing was made. This created an opportunity to separate the burned from the unburned part of the site and prevent the spread of flames. According to the commissioner, the specifics of the fire were related to the burning of plastics and other waste that had been compressed into cubic bales. This led to a very high combustion load and made the work of the teams difficult.
“On the one hand, the combustion load is very high, and on the other - there is oxygen inside the bales. In addition, gusts of wind ignited fires in different places“, he explained. According to him, the main goal of the firefighters was to prevent the fire from spreading beyond the base and endangering neighboring sites or territories.
The fire caused material damage to some of the machinery and equipment used for the base's operations. Significant amounts of already prepared and baled waste were also destroyed. “It is probably dozens or even hundreds of tons of waste, but the exact quantities will be established later“, said Stoyan Kolev. He added that a number of activities will be required to restore the site's operation, and the amount of damage is yet to be calculated.
At the moment, the causes of the fire have not yet been established. “We managed to tactically deal with the fire, but our colleagues from the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior will carry out the necessary procedural and investigative actions and will definitely establish the causes of its occurrence“, said Stoyan Kolev. “Tactically, this was the right approach and we managed to deal with it“, he added.
The fire broke out yesterday at a waste storage and processing facility in the Stara Zagora region. Fire brigade, police and other institutions worked on site, preventing the fire from spreading beyond the site. Teams of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water (RIOSV) - Stara Zagora began additional measurements of the quality of the atmospheric air.
Eight teams of the Regional Directorate “Fire Safety and Population Protection“ participated in the extinguishing. In the evening, the situation was brought under control, but fire brigade teams remained on site.