More than 150,000 people were confined for seven hours by a toxic cloud from a fire in Garraf.

BarcelonaSome 150,000 people in five municipalities in the Garraf and Baix Penedès regions were confined for more than seven hours this Saturday due to a fire that devastated a swimming pool chemical company. The flames produced a large cloud of smoke containing hydrochloric acid particles, forcing restrictions on movement in Vilanova i la Geltrú, the Roquetas de San Pedro de Ribes area, Cubelles, Cunit, and Calafell from 5:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. While emergency services worked to extinguish the fire, residents were unable to leave their homes and had to close doors and windows to avoid the toxic cloud. Businesses were closed, and all scheduled activities were canceled. Once it was determined that there was no risk to the public, the government lifted the restriction. Air monitoring indicates that there are no more suspended chlorine residues in the area, and the Generalitat Fire Department expects to extinguish the fire in the next few hours.

The fire started just after 2:00 a.m. at the facilities of Cleanwater Pool, a company dedicated to the distribution of pool maintenance products. The warehouse stored approximately 70 tons of chlorine tablets, causing the fire to create a significant pollutant cloud that forced Civil Protection to activate the PLASEQCAT (External Emergency Plan for the Chemical Sector of Catalonia) in the Emergency phase. The Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, explained that the Medical Emergency System (SEM) only had to treat three people with minor injuries. One was discharged immediately, and the other two were transferred to the Sant Antoni Abat primary care center in Vilanova.

Civil Protection has sent an alert message to the mobile phones of the entire population requiring confinement. The alarm was raised at 4:30 a.m., when the fire had been burning for hours and the time was approaching when residents could begin to get up. Fire Chief David Borrell explained that they encountered "many complications" in extinguishing the fire. Since the fire was burning chlorine tablets, each time the firefighters threw water to prevent the flames from spreading, they generated a chemical reaction that fueled the toxic cloud. Specifically, hydrochloric acid was produced, which is toxic and causes feelings of irritability. "We had difficulty finding this balance: keeping the fire from spreading, but also preventing the cloud from getting bigger," he explained.

"Total loss"

The owner of the burned-down business, Jorge Viñuales, lamented the lockdown in the five municipalities and confirmed the serious damage to the warehouse. "Everything has burned, it's a total disaster," he explained to ACN. The firefighters alerted him in the early hours of the morning when the fire was detected, and once the flames were extinguished, they warned that the warehouse was at risk of collapsing. Now, Viñuales maintains that the "most important thing is to understand the causes" of the fire, which is already being investigated, and assured that he had "all the permits in order." He also thanked the firefighters for their work in ensuring the fire did not affect neighboring warehouses. "It's not a pleasant situation for us, as we must halt activity at a crucial time of the season," concluded the owner of Cleanwater Pool.

During the emergency phase, traffic has been cut off on the C-15 and C-31 highways near Vilanova i la Geltrú for safety reasons, and the public has been asked to avoid travel in this area. Furthermore, trains on the R2 Sur route have not stopped between Sitges and Sant Vicenç de Calders. Once the lockdown was lifted, normal service has also resumed on the roads and rail network, although a 500-meter exclusion zone has been maintained around the affected industry as a precaution.