site.btaTuesday Fire Stops Traffic on Strouma Motorway Section at Doupnitsa

ESD 19:03:01 14-08-2019
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115 HOME AFFAIRS - FIRE - MOTORWAY

Tuesday Fire Stops Traffic
on Strouma Motorway Section
at Doupnitsa

August 14 (BTA) - A Strouma Motorway section near Doupnitsa has been closed to traffic due to a Tuesday fire that might have damaged a motorway viaduct. Traffic is detoured to other roads to bypass the facility. Partial state of emergency has been declared in the area of Doupnitsa until the end of Wednesday.

An expert inspection of the bridge on Wednesday found that parts of it, including five of the 13 pillars and both lanes have been damaged by the fire, rendering the facility dangerous for traffic. Additional inspections and assessments need to be carried out before the urgent repairs start.
The fire broke out in a pile of scrap stored near the viaduct and spread to a large area of dry grass and shrubs. A strong easterly wind blew black smoke kilometres away.

On Wednesday, firefighters continued extinguishing a fire front spanning over 200-300 metres. Two crews of 10 firefighters and a team of 10 forest rangers were on the scene. The burning bales of plastic waste were removed from the bridge to be extinguished.

The properties of residents of nearby villages are not at risk.

After the measures to be taken and the damage sustained become clear, the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) will seek compensation from the owner of the scrap waste processing site, whose improperly stored waste had caused the fire. The Agency also said it is referring the owner to the prosecuting magistracy.

Storing waste on, under or alongside viaducts is forbidden by law. Nevertheless, the company operating the waste site had obtained a permit from the competent environmental authority.

The local Fire Safety and Civil Protection Service Tuesday extinguished six fires in the region caused by human negligence.

RIA Management Board Chairman Georgi Terziyski has given the heads of all 27 regional road directorates until August 23 to inspect all viaducts for irregular use of the area under and near them.

Doupnitsa Town Hall reported that pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in connection with the fire. The Municipality said that last year they alerted RIA and the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water in Pernik (Southwestern Bulgaria) that the storage of waste under the Strouma Motorway viaduct at Doupnitsa posed a fire hazard.

The Municipality has also filed lawsuits against the property's tenant, some of which have been won at first instance and are being appealed.

According to the local authority, air quality measurements taken by the Civil Protection Service do not show any pollution in the area. Samples have been taken from the nearby villages of Blazhievo and Djerman, as well as from the site of the fire. LN/MY