A fire broke out at an industrial park around 1 pm inside a 7,200-m² warehouse divided into 7 operating zones. The blaze ignited within a 600-m² zone occupied by a food processing company producing the Indian appetizer samosa, before extending to a second zone covering the same surface area and used to warehouse agrochemical products (insecticides, rat poison and mosquito repellent), along with a laboratory.

On the same site 20 min earlier, emergency personnel had established a wide safety perimeter and proceeded with the evacuation of neighbouring offices and warehouses due to the release of thick black smoke capable of containing toxic substances. The wind fanned the flames, and a near-suffocating atmosphere complicated the emergency response. Some 40 fire-fighters wearing oxygen masks deployed 6 nozzles; the fire was finally contained around 3:30 pm; 2 fire-fighters and 2 others intoxicated by the flames received treatment onsite.

The 2 businesses and the laboratory were destroyed, yet employees were able to remove the biological samples in time. A nearby corn silo remained under surveillance and in the end was spared. No details were provided regarding the eventual damage sustained by the food processing site’s refrigeration installations.

The extinction water, containing bifenthrin among other components, polluted the soil and spilled into sewers. Fearing pollution of the ocean, the emergency teams set up an earthen dam.

From initial investigation findings, this fire broke out on a deep fat fryer.