The fire brigade expects to be busy for hours with the large fire in a shed of firelighter factory Fire-Up in Oisterwijk. At around half past eight a fire broke out in the building at De Nedervonder. Since then, train traffic between Tilburg and Boxtel has come to a standstill. There is a hose from the fire brigade over the track, to be able to get water from a river. No one was injured.
According to a spokesperson for the fire service, the shed can be considered lost. The priority is now to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.
A lot of smoke is released during the fire. Ash particles also whirl down in the environment. NL-Alerts were sent at a quarter to eleven and a quarter past twelve. Local residents are advised to close windows and doors and switch off ventilation. The Laarakkerweg, Nicolaas van Eschstraat and Kuiperstraat are closed to traffic.
The owner of Fire-Up, Bogdan Costescu, reacted briefly to the fire on Monday: “It affects me enormously. We are putting our shoulders to the wheel as soon as possible. Priority one is extinguishing and the investigation now.” Mayor Hans Janssen van Oisterwijk will also be present at the fire on Monday: “We are starting an in-depth investigation and depending on the results, we are not afraid to take far-reaching steps in the context of permitting.”
Foam installation went off
In the night from Sunday to Monday, the foam installation in the shed had already gone off because there was supposed to be a fire. The fire brigade was then present to check the area. There was no fire then.
According to a spokesperson for the Safety Region, the fire brigade returned the next morning for a follow-up check. “Then they open things up to check. Then the fire flared up again and immediately scaled up to a major fire.” Around nine o’clock it was scaled up to ‘very large fire’.
Additional equipment
Around a quarter to eleven, the Safety Region reports that the fire service has deployed more equipment to get the fire under control. “More vehicles, more men: we are putting everything in extra at the moment, because we don’t have it under control yet.” Extra hoses are also being rolled out to collect water from the river. The flames are still shooting out of the roof at the time.
Four fires in a short time
This is not the first time a fire has broken out at the factory. In June 2013, the Fire-Up building burned down completely. And in September 2019, four fires broke out in just a few days. Part of the building was about to collapse.
According to the then owner Kees van Opstal of Fire-Up, the fires were caused by a different composition of one of the raw materials of the firelighters. As a result, the temperature of the mixing tablets would rise, instead of falling.
It is not clear whether this is now the case. Since the fires, the company has taken several safety measures to prevent overheating in the cubes.
Great concern fire brigade
The fire brigade expressed great concern about Fire-Up after the series of fires. “This can no longer be done,” said officer on duty Sasbout Discount about the situation at the time. “The fear that this will eventually lead to a major fire is present with us. An adjusted plan must be made.”
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