The Izik-Baranya district authorities received a report early Saturday that a fire had broken out at a company warehouse in Izik, near the Southern Ring Road. The fire brigade went to the scene with 40 people and 13 vehicles – later joined by their colleagues – and fought for about six hours to control the flames. Highway No. 2 was closed in both directions near the fire, from the Tinja exit to the Vinkovci exit, police said. Index.hr.
According to local reports, several nearby warehouses were burned, including those of the GLS parcel delivery company and Lagermax warehouses, which were completely destroyed.
Goran Ivkovic, head of the Eszczecin Fire Department, told Hina that the fire had been located and efforts were underway to completely extinguish it, which could take a full day as more warehouses were on fire. In addition, since there was a risk of the roof structure of the building collapsing significantly due to the fire, the safety of firefighters must also be ensured.
The damage is extensive but we were able to protect the gas station inside the building.
“There are no reports of personal injuries so far,” Ivkovic said, adding that the fire was burning in an area of at least 100×300 meters.
“We received a report of a fire in a warehouse at 3:06 a.m. Many companies rent here. 78 firefighters with 22 vehicles took part in extinguishing the fire. According to initial estimates, the damage is very large. All the warehouses were destroyed. Fortunately, no one was injured, not even a firefighter,” Dragan Vulin, deputy mayor of Izik and head of the Izik Civil Defense Department, told HTV.
He stressed that the biggest challenge was preventing the fire from spreading to the nearby gas station. The deputy mayor also posted footage of the fire on his personal Facebook page, adding that they do not yet know the cause of the fire, but that there were many bottles inside “filled with different gases.”
Volin reassured everyone: “While fighting the fire, several explosions occurred in one of the warehouses, presumably gas cylinders and pressure cylinders that exploded from the heat and impact of the fire, but there were no firefighters nearby.”
The investigation into the case has not yet begun and most likely will not begin today, but if the firefighters finish the work, then “we will find out” what caused the fire, said Izik-Baranya Police Department Deputy Chief Darijo Primic.
