Three Military Police Jeeps of the “Desert Cat” are entering the site of the explosions, the Ministry of Defense announced. The Chief of Defense, Admiral Emil Eftimov, and the Director of the Military Police, Brigadier General Ivaylo Sotirov, are involved in controlling the situation, BNT reported.
Soldiers with four water carriers from the Mobile Communication Station (KIS) were sent to the scene of the accident – Gorna Malina, as well as servicemen with two water carriers from the formation in Negushevo, from the Logistics Support Command.
A specialized module for action in the event of industrial accidents is being prepared from the military formation in Musachevo, from the Ground Forces. The formation has five self-filling stations that will be used, it is clear from the announcement.
There are also sappers and other military specialists on site.
Two teams of the Labor Inspection are also at the scene of the incident with the burning fireworks warehouses near Elin Pelin. They carried out an inspection at the initiative of RISV and KOS, most recently in October 2023.
Three violations of the material competence of the GIT were found. They were more organizational.
All workers have certificates of legal capacity with this type of products. They are constantly trained.
About 150 people from the Elin Pelin Station have moved to their relatives and friends in a more distant area, there is no evacuation at the moment, Sofia-Oblast Governor Silvia Arnautska told BNT. She added that there is no interest from the local population to evacuate to places provided by the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC).
People who are closest to Elin Pelin should be evacuated, Silvia Arnautska also said. What we have undertaken is to provide them with the opportunity to go to all the bases of the BRC that are nearby, she added.
For now, there is no need for help, the regional governor said. All institutions are in place, absolutely all authorities are organized – police, fire department, military, an Operational Headquarters has been created, which constantly monitors the situation and adequate measures are taken, at least for the moment, Arnautska added.
People will get a new warning from BG alert even if it is at night, the district governor added in response to a question whether the system can be activated again if necessary.
Because of the fire in a warehouse for fireworks, a partial state of emergency was declared in the town of Elin Pelin, as well as in the villages of Gara Elin Pelin and Novi Khan, Kristina Dimitrova from the municipal administration told BTA.
The BG alert system sent an evacuation warning to residents of Elin Pelin Station in the direction of Novi Han, BTA reported.
The Metropolitan Municipality sent 11 water tankers to the scene of the fire in the fireworks warehouse between Elin Pelin and Elin Pelin Station, the press center of the Metropolitan Municipality reported.
They help to extinguish the explosions. Arrangements were made for the fire trucks and water tankers to be refilled with water from the installation in Khan Bogorov.
The Metropolitan Municipality placed a mobile measuring station in the area of the fire to measure the quality of atmospheric air. The station is positioned in the center of the village of Lesnovo, in the immediate vicinity of the fire. It will be used for emission control of the quality of the atmospheric air.
It is expected that the first data will be visualized after 02:30, and they will be visible in real time on the website of the Metropolitan Municipality.
Three emergency teams of the Metropolitan Municipality continue to work in coordination with the fire department on the ground. They monitor the fire with the help of a drone with a thermal camera and assist in the evacuation of people, informs the municipality.
The Metropolitan Municipality is ready to provide assistance in accommodating those in need in the municipal centers for temporary accommodation. Alerts about people who need to be accommodated are accepted at the 24-hour contact center on 0700 17 310, as well as through 112.