A gigantic fire broke out on Friday around 2 a.m . In the magnesium foundry Polmag in Olszowa nearby the A4 motorway, at this time, the production of steering wheels was continued.
The fire in magnesium foundry was caused most likely by the failure of technological furnace, which was used for metal smelting.
The molten magnesium spilled out on the floor and began to burn. In a few minutes the production hall was in fire.
Foundry workers managed to evacuate and called the fire brigade. About 100 firefighters, police force and specialists of environment protection took part in the operation.
After 3.00 p.m. the fire was extinguished.
The company Polmag has acted in commune Ujazd for just two years. It was located in a modern production hall, which stood in the economic zone on the A4 motorway.
The Foundry specialized in the production of ultra-light auto parts, as well as lightweight and durable cases for electronic equipment.
It is known that Polmag was insured in case of fire . - The fire is a huge loss for the municipality , as the company was trying to expand the plant and increase production - says Tadeusz Kauch, the Ujazd mayor. - We hope that we manage to rebuild it , because Polmag has a great potential . The losses in the fire were valued at 35 million PLN.
Video:
About 2 a.m we received information about the fire . When we arrived, it turned out that magnesium is burning. Magnesium is a material that is not allowed to be extinguished with using water so we had to use fire extinguishers. Due to fact that the amount of extinguishing source was not sufficient we had to make use of the cars with 3 tons of dry powder from Kedzierzyn Kozle. The powder attempted to extinguish the fire which spread on the next technological furnaces. But fire has still not been extinguished. Therefore, we did not use water. The water causes the break down into hydrogen and oxygen and it may cause an explosion.
The fire spread into the second part of the hall where another 4 tons of magnesium is stored. It's all were in fire. It was not possible to use the water.
Now it looks like this: the final product of burning magnesium is magnesium oxide which is not toxic. This is the dust heavier than air and it will fall finally. Firefighters control the toxicity of the air in the area. However the substance is not dangerous for the environment and for the people.
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