Renewed fires in wheat groves in Beirut port reminds of the explosion disaster

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned once morest the approach of human crews to the site of a fire in the destroyed wheat groves in the port of Beirut, following fears that parts of the granaries might fall as a result of repeated fires caused by fermentation and ignition of grain.

On the eve of the second anniversary of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, fires are burning in the hard-to-reach grain in the northern part of the Al-Ahrah, threatening to fall parts of the concrete as a result of the high heat of the fires. After a similar fire broke out last week, the fires were repeated, the day before yesterday (Thursday), amid warnings of the collapse of the concrete facility that witnessed the explosion of the port.

The Beirut Fire Brigade and the Civil Defense started, the day before yesterday, the work of cooling wheat silos in Beirut Port following it caught fire, in implementation of the mandate of the Ministry of Interior. Yesterday, civil defense teams continued their attempts to put out the fire in the wheat barns, and resorted to drawing water from the sea to facilitate the process.

The barns in the port were severely damaged by the explosion of the port of Beirut in 2020, when it absorbed the gusts of the huge explosion, causing its destruction. All attempts to withdraw the grain stored in some of its pockets failed, due to the crack in the facility.

Yesterday, the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, continued the situation of the barns in light of the continuous cracks and the frequent fires that occur in them. According to reports prepared by the Ministries of Interior, Economy, Public Works and Environment, through monitoring devices, “the risk of falling parts of the northern side of the Prairies is high.” Mikati instructed the concerned agencies to permanently monitor the plots and not to approach any of the workers or members of the civil defense and the fire brigade from the place in order to preserve their safety and not to endanger their lives.

The concerned ministers pointed out that “the grains located on the eastern side of the barns that were not treated due to the danger of access to them are estimated at 3000 tons, of which 800 tons have recently started spontaneous combustion as a result of climatic factors, as the grain temperature reaches more than 95 degrees Celsius as a result of fermentation, knowing that emissions The resulting fermentation does not pose any danger to public health. Experts estimate that the fire will be extinguished as soon as the quantity ends, and they warn once morest using water to extinguish it, which will exacerbate the situation and increase the fermentation and burning processes.”

The Minister of Interior stated in his report that “the fire that occurred Thursday was caused by the fire spreading to the electric cables on the outskirts of the barns, and the civil defense and Beirut fire brigade rushed to extinguish it immediately, endangering their lives.”