RIYADH, 6 April — A massive fire at a detergents warehouse, southeast of Riyadh, destroyed products worth SR4 million on Thursday.
The Civil Defense Department has launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Brig. Misfer Al-Joaid, director of the department, told Arab News that they received information about the fire quite some time after it broke out, and that the delay had added to the damage.
The department is now questioning officials at the warehouse and the company which owns the facility. Witnesses said the fire broke out in the warehouse at Al-Saley district at noon while it was locked.
Civil Defense firefighters, supported by an emergency team, soon brought the blaze under control. The warehouse’s metallic roof collapsed in extreme heat.
About 180 firemen took part in the firefighting operation, Joaid said, adding that helicopters could not be used to quell the fire because the warehouse was located in a secluded area.
By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire was spreading violently and goods worth SR4 million had already been destroyed.
Joaid said his department had used about 50 water tankers to bring the massive blaze under control. The combination of detergents with water and plastic products had hampered the operation, he pointed out.
According to Col. Abid Al-Shukhairy, a senior department official, the absence of a security guard at the warehouse had exacerbated the problem.“If a guard had been present, he could have informed us earlier,” he commented.
No firefighters were injured in the operation, although one of them suffered breathing difficulties after inhaling smoke. Police cordoned off the area for more than four hours to facilitate the movement of Civil Defense vehicles.
