Teams remove debris after a large fire at a scrap metal warehouse in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, January 13, 2023.(Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — After 14 hours of effort, a large fire was brought under control Friday morning in the "Mehieddine" scrap metal warehouse in Nabatieh, South Lebanon, where three firefighters were slightly injured, a fourth hospitalized, and significant material damage was caused, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent and the state-run National News Agency.
At about 6 pm Thursday, the fire broke out on the warehouse's upper floor and teams of firefighters and Civil Defense rushed to try to extinguish the flames. Heavy smoke was reported, as plastic materials were set alight. The origin of the fire is unknown.
The fire was brought under control around 9am Friday. It was "one of the largest in Lebanon," the NNA reckoned. Cooling operations are still underway on the upper floor.
Ambulance services in Nabatieh said they were able to treat three light injuries on the ground and transferred a fourth to the city's government hospital. The injured are firefighters, some of whom had inhaled fumes while "others were exhausted by the effort and fatigue" due to the duration of the intervention, the NNA reported. Material losses are estimated at "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah.