The major fire caused by an explosion in a chemical warehouse at the La Red Industrial Estate in Alcala de Guadaira near Seville in southern Spain, forced thousands of people to stay home for fear of possible poisoning, authorities said.
The fire trapped 80,000 people in their homes by the toxic air that enveloped the town. Reports say one person was reportedly injured and was taken to hospital with burns.
Andalusia Emergency Service reported that it received its first alert at 1:20pm from the company that operates the warehouse, saying there was an explosion at the facility.
As a precaution, the company evacuated all staff. However, it has not yet been confirmed whether the incident caused injuries.
Authorities have described the incident as “troubling” because of the scale of the fire and the nature of the burning material.
Civil Protection has alerted all mobile devices in the town of Alcala de Guadaira through its esalert system, alerting them of fires and keeping them out of their homes.
Officials recommend “to prevent smoke from entering,” “using masks,” and “closing doors and windows.” The Junta de Andalucía Regional Government has also declared a Level 1 emergency.
Firefighters from seven fire stations in the state, including Alcala de Guadailla, Utrera, Alajar, La Linconada, Mailena del Alcohol and towns nearby Mayor Sanlucar la, were brought in to fight the fire.
The company that operates the facility has been engaged in the distribution and commercialization of chemical products since 1985.
The facility has a surface area of 11,000 square meters, of which 4,500 are covered. The storage capacity of bulk liquid products is 1,000 cubic meters and can store over 5,000 pallets.
At this time, it is not confirmed which material is burning, but the smoke clouds produced by the fire can be seen from municipalities located more than 80 kilometers from the site. Authorities continue to work to control the situation and prevent the fire from spreading.
