Winds and flaming materials prevented a fire that broke out in a huge carpet factory in southern Lebanon, the largest in a confined and narrow spot, where the flames continued to rise for more than 24 hours, and the emitted smoke reached distances of more than 30 kilometers, as it was seen over the Israeli settlements opposite the Lebanese villages In southeast Lebanon.
A fire broke out in the Qabalan Carpet Factory, located in the Zefta area (60 kilometers south of Beirut) near the city of Nabatiyeh, on Friday evening, destroying its contents, and the cement began to fall. Civil defense and firefighting teams have been trying to put out the fire since Friday evening, and until Saturday afternoon, they were unable to completely extinguish it, despite the participation of Lebanese army helicopters in the firefighting operations. The raft was able to put out the fires in the open spaces and made several rounds of extinguishing and was filling its tank from the sea opposite Al-Zahrani, but the intensity of the fires on the ground floors contributed to the continuation of the fire.
The Qabalan factory is one of the largest carpet factories in the Middle East, and has about two hundred workers. Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the factory contained flammable materials such as sponge, linen, nylon, wool, cotton and batex, which fueled the fires that ignited, as well as strong winds that contributed to fanning the flames. The sources said that the building is about to collapse, as the cement blocks began to fall due to the strong fire and high heat.
Hundreds of fire engines and official civil defense teams affiliated with NGOs participated in the attempts to put out the fire, and a battalion of the International Peacekeeping Forces (UNIFIL) participated in the extinguishing operations, and a unit of the Spanish battalion continued throughout the night of Friday / Saturday in attempts to put out the fire.
The Qabalan factory fire is one of the largest and largest fires that Lebanon witnessed in a “confined and limited spot”, and the most dangerous in terms of extinguishing operations, according to Lebanese media. The Director-General of Civil Defense, Brigadier Raymond Khattar, announced that more than 28 vehicles are present in Zefta to work to extinguish the fire in the carpet factory, noting that “the fire does not threaten the area because it is in an isolated place, but the building is vulnerable to collapse.”
On Saturday afternoon, Caretaker Minister of Industry, George Bushkian, inspected the firefighting operations, and met with the owner of the plant, Hussein Qabalan, and officials of the fire brigade, and briefed them on the difficulties they face in the process of extinguishing the fire, due to the presence of quantities of chemicals used in the process of manufacturing carpets and rugs. .
After the tour, he said: “We, as a ministry, are strict in taking public safety measures to preserve our factories, and I learned that these measures were taken completely here in the Qabalan factory, but it seems that there was an electrical friction that resulted in this fire.”
He stressed, “We are strict in taking measures regarding public safety in all licenses given to these industrial facilities, especially if chemicals are found in the manufacturing processes. Accidents are liable to occur in many circumstances and all over the world.”