Massive fire destroys plastics warehouse in Maribor

A massive blaze has destroyed a large plastics warehouse in an industrial zone in Maribor, Slovenia's second largest city, causing damage that has been estimated at several million euros, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The fire broke out around 7pm on 8 February in the warehouse of Plana, a company specialised in injection moulded plastic products for households, and quickly engulfed the entire 10,000 m2 building, destroying about 9,000 pallets of products within just hours.

Primož Osojnik, the commander of the Maribor fire brigade, told the Slovenian Press Agency morning that the fire most probably started in one of the halls and then quickly spread.

"We managed to keep the fire from the administrative building, which remained intact, but the other facilities had already been on fire when we arrived," he said. Nobody was injured in the fire.

The effort involved 230 firefighters from the Maribor fire brigade and 17 volunteer fire brigades from the region using sixty vehicles.

Some firefighters remain on site because small fires keep popping up all the time. "We will stay here as long as necessary," Osojnik said.

A laboratory was set up at the site to perform tests, and the results of measurements of the impact on the environment and respiratory systems will be announced within 48 hours.

"The firefighters experienced no health problems during and after the intervention, as they used breathing apparatuses and proper protective equipment," Osojnik added.

Preliminary estimates by the police put the property damage at several million euros. Investigators are still working on determining the cause of the fire.