German Refinery Fire Requires Mutual Aid Response

Overwhelmed by a refinery fire reported Friday night, the in-house fire brigade requested help from firefighters in Salzbergen, Germany, FF Salzbergen emergency services states.

The northeastern German refinery, originally build in the 1860s, is famed as the oldest operating oil refinery in the world.

“Due to the size of the fire and the acute risk of spreading, the local operations management immediately decided to involve the Salzbergen volunteer fire brigade,” a statement issued by FF Salzbergen states.

With a full alarm triggered by using the keyword “F4_Industrie,” both fire departments prevented the fire from spreading to other process unit by using massive amounts of water and firefighting foam. Extinguishment took nearly two hours, FF Salzbergen reports.

The Salzbergen firefighters remained on site for nearly five hours, participating in extensive clean-up and overhaul before handing authority back to the plant fire brigade.

No injuries from the fire were reported.