"factory fire extinguished in 91 hours"

 

The accumulation of combustibles (e.g., cardboard, scrap, magnesium, dross, etc.) is a hazard to many workplaces, discount or downplay. Here is a recent incident that highlights the hazard of combustible material storage.

In the fierce flames, the fire department immediately issued the second level of response around 7:30 p.m (during the first week in February 2026).

"About 90 firefighting vehicles and 270 personnel were deployed to the scene to extinguish the fire."

Aluminum inside the factory has a high risk of explosion when it comes into contact with water, making it difficult to extinguish.

Currently, firefighters are extinguishing the fire by covering it with sand one by one.

(local and provincial) Fire Headquarters Prevention and Safety Division/"If the fire that occurs is a metal fire and is extinguished with water, explosions and pollutants may occur. It will take some time for the sludge (waste) to completely burn up."}

Fortunately, the fire that was spreading to the mountains was contained, and the fire department lowered the response level to level 1 around 10 p.m.

However, as northwesterly winds with an average speed of 2 meters per second continue to blow in (town name omitted), it will take some time for it to completely extinguish.

The fire department and police plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage as soon as the fire is completely extinguished at the scene.

A subsequent news article stated that “In the beginning, the water tank truck caught fire first, but later the pump truck also caught fire, and both of them were burned down.” As well as burning ambers landed on nearby hillside and caught the grass on fire. It appears no one was injured in this fire. The facility was a total loss.

We hope the reader will see this incident and think. Think of your workplace and where there are combustibles. Most common issues we see on our plant tours is the storage of cardboard, pallets, magnesium, dust/shreddings, etc. While this fire involved aluminium, the facility also had magnesium that no doubt made the situation worse.

The other point we hope this incident makes is the need to have fire extinguishing agent on hand. After 91 hours the fire was extinguished. That is nearly 4 days of fire. That occurred only because the workplace did not plan for a fire. We have to assume that they thought (albeit incorrectly) that the local fire department could handle any fire. They were wrong. Not only was their workplace destroyed. The local community lost two (2) fire trucks. We would assume that the local government will go after the company for payment of the destroyed vehicles.

Please comment.