The fire started around 4 p.m. and about 20 fire crews are trying to put it out. (Photo: TN.com.ar)
A raging fire, with flames several meters high and dense plumes of smoke that can be seen many kilometers away, consumed plastic material stored in the factory Cabelma, located in the Buenos Aires town of General Pacheco.
The incident began around 4 p.m. and is fought by at least 20 fire crews from Tigre, General Pacheco, Benavídez, Don Torcuato and San Isidro, who must attack the flames from several sides, given that the fire extends over a front of about 200 meters.
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From the factory, in which plastic containers of different sizes are manufactured, a dense column of black smoke was released that could be seen from up to 30 kilometers away, even from the City of Buenos Aires. Firefighters evacuated neighboring houses and at the moment there were no reports of injured people.
The neighbors evacuated themselves from the surroundings of the factory, located in Arevalos 3435 and that is dedicated to the production of plastic boxes for bottles and baskets, among other elements.
The origin of the fire
Neighbors alerted the Tigre Police about the burning of grasslands at one of the factory gates, which is considered as a hypothesis for the start of the fire.
In dialogue with TN, Sofia, a neighbor of the place, pointed out that “first the Cabelma field, which occupies a block, was set on fire and then it spread to the plastics factory.”
“There are three houses on one corner and three houses on the other. And the factory is in the middle. There were a lot of self-evacuated people and a lot of concern. Traffic in the area is all cut off, ”added the witness.
Firefighters also evaluate whether the material that is burning and is on the walls can generate some type of collapse.
Jose Cornejo, chief of the General Pacheco fire station, told Telam that “this fire is very violent and until now we have not been able to contain it due to the combustible material found inside the factory.”
“The smoke is slightly toxic, but we had several firefighters affected by heatstroke due to the high temperatures. They have already been transferred in ambulances ”, he pointed out.
He also indicated that “the main problem is that the fire does not spread to neighboring houses, since it is in a highly populated area, all the neighbors evacuated themselves. There is no danger of collapse or explosions yet ”.
Cornejo also specified that firefighters are trying to attack the flames with hydraulic lifts from different fronts.
