RTV NOF
Thursday, August 22, 2024
DOKKUM – On Thursday morning, a very large fire broke out in a storage building on the Hendoweg on the Betterwird industrial estate in Dokkum. The fire brigade was initially alerted to a company fire, but it soon became apparent that the situation was more serious than expected. The building was recently built and was used to store various materials, which may have made fighting the fire more difficult. Several fire brigades from Dokkum, Damwâld and Burgum, as well as the province of Groningen, were present to extinguish the fire.
In order to improve coordination between the various emergency services, GRIP 1 has been scaled up. The fire brigade is trying to save the adjacent buildings and is warning the population to stay out of the smoke, as it is harmful. Residents in the area are advised to close windows and doors and to switch off mechanical ventilation. Oldtimers, a jeep and other vehicles have also been removed from surrounding buildings by bystanders.
NL-Alert
The fire released a lot of smoke. It moved towards the Weeshuislanden district in Dokkum. That is why an NL-Alert was sent out. The call was: Stay out of the smoke! In order to be able to properly combat the fire in Dokkum, the Betterwird, Hendoweg and Energieweg were closed. Two people inhaled smoke. This happened when they removed the cars from a building to prevent them from catching fire. The two people were checked by ambulance personnel.
Fire water pollutes Dokkumer Ee
Some of the extinguishing water ended up in the Dokkumer Ee. As a result, the water in the vicinity of Dokkum may be darker in colour and emit an unpleasant odour. A darker deposit may also be visible on boats. In addition, there are a few people who inhaled smoke and were checked by ambulance personnel, including a few bystanders. Two people were taken to hospital for further treatment. In the vicinity of the fire, combustion residues fell on the ground. These residues can be cleaned up with a broom and dustpan and then thrown away in the container. Have you inhaled smoke and are you experiencing health complaints that do not go away? Then contact your GP. After 5:00 PM you can contact the Doctors’ On-Call, according to the Veiligheidsregio Fryslân.
Update fire chief
At around three o’clock the signal “fire under control” was given. The fire brigade expects to be busy with the after-extinguishing for a few more hours. The NL-Alert issued on Thursday morning is no longer applicable. “Are you still bothered by smoke? Then keep windows and doors closed and switch off the mechanical ventilation, the situation has now been scaled down to GRIP 0,” the Veiligheidsregio Fryslân reports.
The fire released a lot of smoke, which was visible from far away (even on Ameland) on the horizon. Deputy mayor Pieter Braaksma also came to the industrial estate. “When I got here, everything was already on fire.” “Fortunately, the fire department has it reasonably under control,” Braaksma told reporter Ben de Jager of RTV NOF. He is concerned about all the “dirty water” that is now ending up in the waters of Dokkum without purification.
Author: Editorial Staff RTV NOF
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