140 Fires in the Country, Two Injured
Sofia. 140 fires have been extinguished across the country in the last 24 hours. This is according to official information published on the website of the General Directorate of "Fire Safety and Civil Protection" (GD_FSCP), which reported a total of 185 calls for various incidents that fire department crews responded to.
Unfortunately, there were two people injured in these incidents, which highlights the risks faced by both citizens and rescue crews.
Incident with Hexane in the Area of VMZ "Sopot"
One of the more serious incidents occurred around 9:50 a.m. yesterday. Fire crews from Karlovo were mobilized to a call about a fire in the area of "VMZ Sopot". According to the report, the fire broke out in a room of a former gas station where a hexane installation was built.
The ignition happened during the transfer of the liquid into containers that had already been loaded into a minivan. As a result of the fire, the minivan was completely destroyed, along with the hexane installation. The blaze also engulfed about 250 sq. m of dry grass in the immediate vicinity of the site. The driver of the minivan was also injured while trying to extinguish the fire, which required a quick response from the rescue services.
Accident on the Ardino-Smolyan Road
Another worrying incident occurred on August 18 at 7:17 p.m. Fire crews responded to a call about a crashed car on the main Ardino-Smolyan road, after the turnoff for the village of Svetulka. The car went off the road, fell into a gully, and caught fire.
Fortunately, before the firefighters arrived, a 22-year-old woman was pulled from the burning car by eyewitnesses. She was transported to a hospital in Kardzhali with fractures and abrasions. The fire department clarified that her injuries were caused by the collision itself, not the subsequent fire.
Fire at a Gas Station in Sandanski
At 7:41 p.m. yesterday, a call was received about a car fire in the area of a gas station on the main road E-79 in Sandanski. According to the clarification, the car was not at the gas station itself, but near it, which likely prevented a greater tragedy. In this incident, a 61-year-old man was injured and immediately transported to a medical facility for care.
- Of the total number of fires for the 24-hour period, 22 caused material damage.
- Nine of these were in residential buildings, which highlights the potential danger to properties and personal belongings.
- On the other hand, 118 of the fires were extinguished without material damage.
- In addition to fighting fires, GD_FSCP crews carried out 33 rescue and assistance operations, six of which were at car accidents, demonstrating the multifaceted nature of their work.