Fire at Szeged chemical plant sends huge smoke cloud over city
A fire broke out at the Medikémia chemical site in Szeged, Hungary, burning solvents and cleaning products and producing a large smoke plume.
A fire broke out around midday on Thursday at what is believed to be the Medikémia site in Szeged, Hungary, sending a huge grey smoke cloud into the air, Telex reported. Photos and video shared on social media showed the thick smoke visible across large parts of the city.
A spokesperson for the Csongrád-Csanád County Disaster Management Directorate, who was on the way to the scene, told Telex that the fire broke out in a smaller production unit at the site and was relatively quickly contained. Disaster management officials later said the fire started in a facility on Zsámbok-Réti Street, where petrol and alcohol derivatives are burning.
Professional firefighters from Szeged were tackling the blaze under the direction of the Csongrád-Csanád county disaster-management operational service, with several other units also sent to the scene, according to Telex.
By early afternoon, officials said they had stopped the fire spreading further. Solvents and cleaning products were burning across an area of about 2,000 square metres in a hall and the surrounding grounds, Telex reported.
Professional firefighters from Szeged, Hódmezővásárhely, Kistelek, Makó, Orosháza, Kiskunmajsa and Szentes were fighting the fire with water-carrying vehicles from Szeged, Hódmezővásárhely and Orosháza, under the direction of the county fire inspectorate's chief fire supervisor, Telex reported, describing a large-scale operation still under way on Thursday afternoon with significant firefighting forces still committed to the site.
The material supplied does not report any casualties or give further detail on the exact cause of the fire, and does not say whether residents living nearby were advised to take any precautions over the smoke drifting across the city.
What we know
- A fire broke out at the Medikémia chemical site in Szeged on Thursday, producing a large smoke cloud.
- Disaster management officials said the fire began in a smaller production unit on Zsámbok-Réti Street, where petrol and alcohol derivatives are present.
- Solvents and cleaning products were burning across about 2,000 square metres, according to Telex.
- Firefighters from seven towns in the region were tackling the blaze under county disaster-management direction.
- No casualties have been reported.
Not yet confirmed
- The exact cause of the fire.
Why it matters for Europe
A fire burning solvents and cleaning products at a chemical site, large enough to require firefighting units from seven towns across the region, raises the risk of hazardous smoke drifting over a populated city. The scale of the response, drawing crews from well beyond Szeged itself, shows how seriously Hungarian emergency services treated the risk from the burning chemicals, even though no injuries have been reported and the fire's spread had already been stopped by early afternoon on the same day it began. Chemical-site fires of this kind can release irritant fumes over a wide area long after the flames themselves are brought under control.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 1 countries.
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Questions and answers
- Where did the fire break out?
- At what is believed to be the Medikémia chemical site in Szeged, Hungary, on a street called Zsámbok-Réti.
- What was burning?
- Officials said petrol and alcohol derivatives were involved, with solvents and cleaning products burning across about 2,000 square metres.
- Were there any injuries?
- No casualties have been reported in connection with the fire.
This article was written with AI assistance from 3 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.