The interior of a frozen food factory in the Aradippou industrial area was reduced to ashes overnight, with only the factory’s offices saved, as fire crews worked to stop the blaze spreading to three neighbouring factories, including one storing flammable liquids and a mushroom production facility filled with hay bales, according to philenews photographs and reporting.
Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis said flare-ups at the factory were continuing, caused by materials inside the building that were difficult “to manage in extinguishing it.”
He said it had been a very difficult fire to fight, with smoke visible as far as the Larnaca district, and that crews from Larnaca’s stations, Disaster Response Unit (EMAK), the Department of Forests, fire crews from other districts and private water tankers had all assisted.
“When we arrived there, within six minutes we had made entry with two teams, from two different points. The whole area was wrapped in black smoke with zero visibility,” he said.
Kettis said the cause of the fire was still being investigated. “We have some suspicions, but we will proceed with the investigation. It probably started from a specific freezer. It is total destruction, we will do everything we can to reach a safe conclusion,” he said.
According to a Fire Service statement, the call reporting the fire was received at 1.22pm, with the blaze brought under control at 8.53pm, with fire crews managing to protect neighbouring factories that had been at risk.
The Fire Service said stations from Larnaca and Nicosia districts and EMAK responded, along with the Department of Forests and Larnaca District Administration, the Labour Inspection Department, an EAC standby crew and an Ambulance Service vehicle on standby.
Three firefighters were taken to hospital as a precaution on Monday after the lengthy operation, as previously reported.
Fire crews remained at the scene as flare-ups continued, with small pockets of fire still present, the Fire Service said. The fire caused extensive damage to the factory and its contents before being brought under control, with damage estimated at hundreds of thousands of euros.
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