NL-Alert issued for very large fire at Etten-Leur industrial site

A very large fire has been raging since Monday morning in a commercial property in Etten-Leur, Noord-Brabant. An NL-Alert was issued to people in a wide area around the scene of the blaze due to the heavy smoke that formed. There were no injuries, the Midden en West Brabant Security Region said.

The fire brigade received a report that a fire had broken out in the utility cupboard at the company at about 9:30 a.m. Plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, were stored in the building that went up in flames on Hermelijnweg.

The fire brigade arrived with a large response, and spent the better part of the morning and afternoon trying to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings.

The smoke could be seen for miles around. Emergency services dispatchers received many complaints about smoke nuisance. The safety office said that there were favorable wind conditions, so that the plumes of smoke should not pass over an adjacent residential area.

Local residents were advised to stay indoors and to close windows and doors. They were also told to turn off ventilation systems.