Oosterhout businesses evacuated in large oil plant fire

A large fire in a Dycore oil plant on Ambachtsweg in Oosterhout on Friday led to the evacuation of homes and businesses in a 500 meter radius around the fire. Local residents are "urgently asked" to keep their windows and doors closed and to stay out of the smoke. The fire started around 11:30 a.m. on Friday, according to Omroep Brabant. A spokesperson for the fire department told the broad caster that about 5 thousand liters of oil caught on fire. The situation was scaled up to Grip 1 (see explanation at bottom of article) and an NL Alert was sent out. Firefighters are at the scene en masse, though the fire engines had to be moved back to a safe distance after the fire spread to nearby silos, in which cement is stored. One person had to be rescued off the roof, where he fled when the fire started. He was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. Another employee told Omroep Brabant that he was burnt by boiling oil on his hand. As far as is known, everyone made it out of the building without serious injury. The fire also disrupted ship traffic on the Wilehlmina Canal. A Grip 1 regional incident calls for emergency services to establish a coordinated chain of command, and active communication with the local mayor’s office, regional fire department command, district police chief and the public health director.

Drie ambulances aanwezig, maar voor zover bekend geen gewonden #ob #dycore pic.twitter.com/jJRms8NTwl

— MarrieMeeuwsen (@MarrieMeeuwsen) August 12, 2016

Flinke fik Oosterhout, te zien vanaf Gorinchem . Nog geen problemen voor verkeer op A59/A27 https://t.co/ctnIrs9AUL pic.twitter.com/reuXtdN2zJ

— Rijkswaterstaat Verkeersinformatie (@RWSverkeersinfo) August 12, 2016