“A fire broke out at a liquefied gas filling station in
Baltoja Vokė on Wednesday: eight railway wagons with gas caught fire,
explosions were heard. The gas tanks that caught fire and exploded belong to
the company “Orlen Lietuva”. When firefighters closed the tank valves on
Wednesday evening, the flames were extinguished, but at around 7 p.m. the fire
had not yet been localized.
Updated information on the latest actions of the Fire
Department and the fire situation.
As Donatas Gurevičius, advisor to the director of the Fire
Protection and Rescue Department (PAGD), told BNS, the operation was carried
out using the “Aros” armored vehicle, in order to protect against a possible
explosion.
“After closing the valves, the flames in the two local
fires, where the burning is still taking place, have decreased. As the flames
have decreased, the risk of the nearby tanks heating up has also decreased
somewhat,” said the fire department representative.
“We do not yet have that very important moment – the
localization of the fire, when we can say that we really control the entire
combustion process. (...) But we are actually moving towards that real
decrease,” he added.
Nevertheless, the threat of an explosion still remains, so
residents within a kilometer radius are still not allowed to return home, and
traffic restrictions continue.
According to D. Gurevičius, firefighters are cooling the
tanks near the fire and waiting for the ignited gas to stop burning. In total,
several dozen firefighters are working at the scene.
Residents evacuated, traffic banned on surrounding streets
“According to preliminary data, the fire broke out due to
violation of working conditions, the police have implemented the “Shield”
plan,” Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovich told reporters on Wednesday.
As the fire continues, it has been announced that the
evacuation of residents within a 1 km radius is mandatory. Traffic is
restricted within a 2 km radius around the fire site: Baltosios Vokės g.,
Kirtimų g., Eišiškių pl., as well as streets from the Vaidotai and Pagiriai
settlements. Some bus routes have also been changed.
Due to the fire, the Vilnius City Municipality has declared
a local emergency on Baltosios Vokės g. 35. The Vilnius District Municipality
has declared an emergency in the nearby Pagiriai eldership.
Part of Kirtimų g. and Eišiškių highway have been closed due
to the fire. Screenshot from Google Maps.
NVSC specialists warn that fire smoke can be hazardous to
health.
According to the minister, the State Border Guard Service is
patrolling from the air – a helicopter has been sent to the scene. Due to this
incident, a transit train from Kaliningrad has been stopped. It is being
guarded by two crews of the Public Security Service. The train will be
redirected to another route.
A representative of Orlen Lietuva, an oil import and
processing company controlled by the Polish oil concern Orlen, confirmed to BNS
that the burning gas tanks belong to the company. The incident occurred in the
territory belonging to Jozita in Baltoja Vokė.
“We have eight wagons there with liquefied gas, these are
wagons that we own, seven of which we rent, and one of which we own,” Tomas
Digaitis, head of communications at Orlen Lietuvos, told BNS.
“This is a cargo from the Mažeikiai factory, we produced it,
loaded it and sent it, but the incident occurred when the client was unloading
the wagons, our people did not participate in this operation in any way. (...)
If I may say such a sentence, the oven is Jozita's, and ours are croissants.
But the oven is on fire, not the croissants,” he added.
He did not comment on further details of the incident.
Jozita's manager Jonas Jokubauskis did not comment on the
situation to BNS.
Waiting for the gas to burn out
At about 3 p.m. Donatas Gurevičius, advisor to the director
of the Lithuanian Railways, told reporters that the burning train was not being
extinguished because firefighters could not reach it due to the heat and
explosions. They were waiting for the gas in the tanks to burn out. The burning
was weakening.
In the afternoon, one of the stationary tanks also caught
fire, and it is not ruled out that several more could have caught fire. The
tanks are interconnected by pipelines, it is unclear how many valves were
closed when the fire started. In total, the tanks here hold 2,000 cubic meters
of liquefied gas.
According to D. Gurevičius, it is very difficult to
extinguish burning gas, so for the safety of firefighters, another method has
been chosen: cooled tanks, which can be reached and it is expected that the gas
in those that the fire has reached will burn out. Currently, firefighters are
trying to bring them to the valves by armored vehicle.
“The best option is if the burning tanks burn out and the others
do not catch fire,” said D. Gurevičius.
The advisor to the director of the PAGD reported that two
people were injured. One company employee was burned and was taken to the
hospital, another person who was at the scene of the incident felt unwell and
also needed medical help.
On Wednesday, the population warning and information system
was activated twice. The first time was due to smoke danger, the second time
was due to the evacuation of people within a one kilometer radius.
“In the context of industrial accidents, this is an
exceptional event, because it is a dangerous facility. There are 20 facilities
of this type in Lithuania. There are 27 of slightly lower danger. A similar
dangerous event occurred almost 20 years ago at Mažeikių Nafta. Even earlier,
at Jonava Azota, when ammonia spilled,” said D. Gurevičius.
According to him, this is a very rare case when something
like this happens at a facility that is constantly inspected by various
institutions.
“As far as I know, Vilnius Municipality will declare an
emergency,” said D. Gurevičius.
Educational institutions are being closed
The capital’s municipality announced that it will provide
temporary accommodation, food, hygiene products and other essential needs for
evacuated residents.
Mayor Valdas Benkunskas announced that educational institutions
within a five-kilometer radius of the incident site will not operate on
Thursday: Salininkų Gymnasium (Vaikų St. 16), Salininkų Kindergarten (Kalviškių
St. 1), Vilnius Vaduvo Kindergarten-School (Vaduvos St. 14A), Vilnius Paneriai
Nursery-Kindergarten (Juodšilių St. 10), Grigiškės Nursery-Kindergarten
“Pelėdžiukas” (Lentvario St. 1A).
Taking into account possible threats to the health and
safety of residents, the educational process was also suspended on Thursday at
Pagiriai Gymnasium, Pagiriai “Pelėdžiukas” Nursery-Kindergarten, Vaidotai
Nursery-Kindergarten “Margaspalvis aitvarėlis” and Pagiriai Art School.
Salininkų Gymnasium and Kindergarten are becoming collection
points for residents - residents who enter the evacuation zone gather there
independently. People who need help evacuating should call the short security
number 19101.
According to the municipality, Vilniaus vandenys has already
changed the water pressure so that firefighters have more water to extinguish
the fire. Vilnius public transport companies are ready to provide transport for
the evacuation of residents if necessary.
Grinda is ready to accept pets of evacuated residents.
Health institutions are ready to send mobile brigades to evacuated residents.
Residents are advised not to go outside
The Joint Emergency Center (BPC) reported the fire on
Wednesday morning. According to it, it was initially reported that one wagon
was on fire on Baltosios Vokės Street. Later, Fire Protection and Rescue
Department (PAGD) spokesperson Edita Zdanevičienė told BNS that eight wagons
with gas were on fire, and explosions were heard.
Nearby residents have been warned about possible air
pollution.
Vilnius Municipality advises residents living closer to the
fire not to go outside, and if they stay at home, not to open air vents,
windows and doors. If there are mechanical ventilation systems, recuperation or
air conditioning in the house, it is recommended to turn off the systems.
If you feel unwell, it is recommended to seek medical
attention immediately.
When driving past the fire site, it is recommended to
tightly close car windows.
The Lithuanian Railways (LTG) group reported that the fire
currently being extinguished is not related to the activities of its companies.
“The explosion did not occur on the territory of LTG, but on
the territory of a private company, the burning wagons also belong to a private
company,” the report states.
According to the LTG group, while the consequences of the
fire are being extinguished, transit train traffic is affected – on Wednesday
they will be diverted via Vilnius.
Explosions – natural phenomena
D. Gurevičius told reporters at the scene that it was a
private territory into which a train of eight gas tankers arrived. First there was
a fire, then explosions.
“These are natural things, because when gas is released and
catches fire, flashes and explosions occur,” explained D. Gurevičius.
Commissioner General Arūnas Paulauskas informed journalists
that over 30 police officers are working at the scene. Officers from the “Aras”
unit have arrived, who will inspect the scene after localizing the fire.
“According to preliminary data, it is most likely that this
is a technogenic accident,” the Commissioner General said about the possible cause
of the fire.
According to A. Paulauskas, when the fire and explosions
started, a transit train from Kaliningrad was nearby. It was diverted back to
Vilnius station, and from there it was diverted to another route to leave
Lithuania.
“Fortunately, there are no residential buildings nearby, so
there is no need to evacuate,” said the Commissioner General.”
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