As reported by Komenda Powiatowa Państwowej Straży Pożarnej w Bolesławcu:
On 5 August 2022, at approximately 6:00 p.m., a fire broke out at the facility in Osła. The fire engulfed raw materials and products from waste processing stored across an area of approximately 2 hectares. The fire’s rapid development and intensity required ten days of firefighting and rescue operations involving State Fire Service and Volunteer Fire Service units from throughout Lower Silesia.
At the peak of the operation, up to 40 crews were deployed, including as many as six ladder and aerial-platform vehicles and six water tankers. The total personnel complement exceeded 100 State Fire Service and Volunteer Fire Service firefighters, who were subsequently replaced by successive shifts every 12 hours.
The Bolesławiec firefighters said: – As the fire area and the intensity of combustion were gradually reduced, the number of forces and resources was decreased. The firefighters extinguished piles of waste by applying water streams from ladders and aerial platforms, as well as from the ground, working with backhoe loaders that spread out the burning material.
The uniformed officers add:
The water supply was organized using the hydrant network in the industrial zone and fire-protection tanks at neighboring workplaces, with additional water transported from open reservoirs in Różyniec, Gromadka and Szczytnica. The prolonged operation, conducted partly in smoke-filled areas, required firefighters to work in breathing apparatus, which were refilled at the scene by special crews equipped with cylinder-filling compressors. In addition, crews from chemical rescue groups, alternating between Wrocław and Legnica, continuously monitored the wind direction, the spread of smoke and concentrations of hazardous substances in the air, and identified any locations and facilities from which people needed to be evacuated.
They also add:
To properly organize the operation, a command post was also established, with central and voivodeship reserve companies taking part alternately, using command and communications vehicles. Depending on the needs arising, coordination involved the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Commander of the State Fire Service and his deputies, operational groups from the State Fire Service Headquarters and the State Fire Service Voivodeship Headquarters in Wrocław, as well as the County Commander of the State Fire Service in Bolesławiec, his deputy and an operational group from the County Headquarters. The police, in cooperation with a fire investigation expert, are determining the circumstances and cause of the fire.
They also conclude:
Due to the large number of rescuers and the risks to their health, medical support was also provided by a medical transport team from St. Luke’s Hospital in Bolesławiec, followed by a medical rescue crew from OSP JPR in Złotoryja. The firefighters’ operations were supported by the Police, which stopped traffic on roads adjacent to the facility, as well as by the authorities of Gromadka Municipality and Bolesławiec County, which helped provide meals for the firefighters and other logistical support. Several workplaces from the LSSE – Osła area also assisted the firefighters by making their yards and water tanks available, helping with meals and providing a supply of protective masks.
More about the fire:
- The biggest fire in years extinguished; grueling operations lasted 10 days. “The smell is out of this world.”
- There have already been SEVERAL WIOŚ inspections at the facility in Osła; another is coming.
- Troubles for the company in Osła. First a huge debt, now a massive fire.
- Reader: “This is the air people are breathing in Osła today”.
- Massive fire in Osła. Operations are still ongoing. VIDEO.
- Is the air after the fire endangering people’s health and lives in Osła?
- Major fire in the Osła industrial zone. Firefighters’ operations are still ongoing at the scene.