The investigation into the cause of the huge fire that broke out on Thursday at a plastics manufacturing plant in the town of Sredets continues. During attempts to control it, two firefighters were gassed, and the Sredets - Elhovo road was closed due to smoke. People in the area received a message from the BG-ALERT system to evacuate to a nearby school. A partial state of emergency was also declared.
The fire broke out in the yard of the plastics factory and within minutes the flames covered a huge area, and black clouds covered the city. A team of the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and Water conducted air quality measurements. It was found that there were elevated levels of methane and carbon dioxide. The fire was brought under control on Thursday evening, but the smoke continued to be serious hours later.
The owner of the plastics factory, Stoyan Naydenov, explained to "Zdravej, Bulgaria" that the fire started in the middle of the site where the waste is stored. According to him, the flames were initially small, and the security immediately took measures to extinguish them. However, the wind was strong and the fire was ignited quickly.
"This time I have no doubts about malicious arson. Plastic is flammable and such enterprises often burn", he emphasized.
The director of the RDPBZN-Burgas, senior commissioner Nikolay Nikolaev, emphasized that last night six teams of firefighters worked on site to extinguish the flames. According to him, most of the base has been extinguished, but white smoke is visible from the plastic yard. “We will stay all day to make sure that the flames are completely extinguished and will not flare up again”, he said.
According to the director of the Burgas Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water Pavel Marinov, a mobile station will be deployed in the area of the plant on Friday morning to measure for dangerous gases. The monitoring will last 72 hours. When levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the air that are safe for people and the environment are recorded, samples will be taken from the burned trees and meadows in the area.
The regional governor of Burgas Vladimir Krumov indicated that 6-7 families have sought help from the Bulgarian Red Cross teams and medical personnel after the call for evacuation after the activation of the BG-ALERT system. "Only two families spent the night in the high school building, where the evacuation center was to be set up," he said. He added that the emergency system would be activated today as well, warning people not to light fires and to be careful due to the increased fire risk.
The partial state of emergency declared by the mayor of Sredets remains in effect and will likely be lifted by the end of Friday.