The fire disaster in the Qabalan carpet factory in the southern town of Zefta has been going on since six in the evening yesterday, and the roofs of the huge building are in danger of collapsing due to the high heat inside. The factory warehouse, which contains tens of tons of goods and materials stored in it, and the process of extinguishing the fire faces major problems due to the presence of large quantities of petroleum materials that are also used in the manufacture of rugs and carpets, in addition to large quantities of batex and sponge materials, and the fire caused the burning of large quantities of carpets and machines. The losses were estimated at millions of dollars, and it was considered one of the largest carpet factories in the Middle East.
The Qabalan factory fire is one of the largest and largest fires that Lebanon witnessed in a “confined and limited area” and the most dangerous in terms of extinguishing operations.
This morning, an army helicopter tried to contribute to the extinguishing process, and was able to put out the fires in the open spaces, and made several rounds of firefighting, filling its tank from the sea opposite Al-Zahrani, but the intensity of the fire on the ground floors contributed to the continuation of the fire.
Simultaneously, elements of the army’s fire brigade work with dozens of teams from the Civil Defense from all centers, with continuous effort and limited capabilities, teams from the Union of Municipalities of the Southern Suburbs and Iqlim al-Tuffah, teams from the Civil Defense from the Palestinian camps in Sidon and Tyre, the Islamic Health Authority and the Islamic Message Scouts, and dozens of Volunteers in the firefighting operations, accompanied by hundreds of members of the health associations, especially the Lebanese Red Cross, Asaf Nabatiyeh, “Tassa’du” and others, remain ready in the vicinity of the burning building, following several cases of fainting occurred in the ranks of the firefighters were transferred and were treated.
The fire trucks are also facing difficulties in securing water for the extinguishing process, following many wells and water sources were unable to pump due to their consumption of the fuel oil they had and its unavailability. At the same time, dozens of firefighting vehicles went to the Sidon area to fill its tanks and return to follow up the firefighting, while dozens of owners of agricultural tractors and tankers from Zefta and neighboring towns volunteered to transport water and provide it to fire engines.
Units of the Spanish battalion operating within the framework of the UNIFIL forces left the scene of the fire, following they contributed throughout the night in the process of putting it out.
The Governor of Nabatiyeh, Dr. Hassan Fakih, continued this morning the firefighting operations in the field, and he met the mayor of Zefta Ali Hamza and the supervisors of the firefighting teams, and considered, “What happened is a disaster and a tragedy, and the capabilities of the municipalities are limited in these circumstances, and the fire is huge, these municipalities do not have the crews and equipment for such a fire, We call upon all the participating teams, the Lebanese army and UNIFIL for the efforts they have made and are making, and we hope that the fire will be brought under control.”
Source: National Media Agency