A fire at an industrial estate in Vilanova i la Geltru, a town 48 kilometers south of Barcelona, caused a toxic cloud of chlorine to spread over a wide area, affecting around 160,000 people in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region. The blaze started at 2:20 a.m. local time on Saturday at a swimming pool cleaning products company.
Authorities initially told people in the affected zone to stay at home, with the Civil Protection service advising on social media site X, “If you are in the zone that is affected do not leave your home or your place of work.”
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the fire, according to Catalan emergency services. However, residents in five towns received a message on their mobile phones instructing them to remain indoors. The fire’s impact was significant, with trains due to pass through the area being held up, roads blocked, and other events canceled.
Jorge Vinuales Alonso, the owner of the industrial property, shed some light on the fire’s potential cause, stating, “It is very difficult for chlorine to catch fire, but when it does so it is very hard to put it out.” He speculated that a lithium battery might have been the cause of the fire. Despite the challenges, Civil Protection spokesperson Joan Ramon Cabello assured that the fire was under control, as reported by TVE television channel.
Catalonia, being a region prone to wildfires due to its large forest surface and dry summers, has been working on strategies to address extreme wildfire events. However, this incident highlights the importance of addressing industrial safety and emergency preparedness.