Fire at SOPAZ under control (Update 4)

A fire at the SOPAZ animal feed factory in the eastern outskirts of Nicosia raging all Monday afternoon was completely extinguished shortly before 7pm.

The fire service had urged the area’s residents to keep their windows closed due to noxious fumes. Fire fighters were using foam to put out the blaze, which seems to have started by a short circuit.

Spokesman Leonidas Leonidou said “The fire at SOPAZ broke out while four employees were working inside. At this point, we don’t know the cause of the fire nor how it started,” he said.

The factory was moving to new premises in Larnaca and had a few more days left to operate in Nicosia hence the small number of employees.

One of the mechanics tried to put out the fire using fire extinguishers but was unable to due to its severity.

The voltage running through the room the fire broke out in, that contained the electricity meters was close to 11,000 volts, CyBC reported and the fire department had to first cut off the electricity.

The factory and a national guard post nearby were also evacuated. Houses in the area were further away and not affected. The wind blew the smoke towards the nearby buffer zone.

Some 20 members of the fire service were at the scene with eight fire trucks.

The cost of the damage would be investigated on Tuesday, Leonidou said.

The factory is covered by insurance.

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