Amsterdam firefighters still fighting blaze on scrap metal ship; Another NL Alert sent
The large fire on a scrap metal ship in Amsterdam’s Westelijk Havengebied is still raging. The commanding officer handling the incident escalated it to a GRIP 2 at around 6:00 a.m. due to the complexity of fighting the fire and because the smoke and soot were impacting a large area. Another NL Alert was sent out on Friday morning, urging locals to stay out of the smoke.
The NL Alert now covers all of Amsterdam within the A10 ring road except for a large portion of the city’s Noord district. The latest bulletin may also have been received by people who are in neighborhoods and municipalities just outside of the zone, including those that were under a smoke warning late Thursday night. One local told Parool that he has received five warnings since the fire broke out.
“Fire with a lot of smoke in Amsterdam, Vlothavenweg. Stay out of the smoke! Close windows and doors. Switch ventilation systems off,” the bulletin warns.
The fire started at around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday on a cargo ship at the Amsterdam Scrap Terminal recycling company. The ship was moored and being loaded when the fire broke out. The ship has five separate cargo holds. The fire started in hold 4, but has now spread to hold 3.
The fire brigade initially tried to extinguish the blaze by removing the scrap in hold 4 and extinguishing the burning parts on shore. They tried the same in hold 3 when the fire spread, but the heat of the blaze weakened the hatches of the hold and the scrap is no longer accessible. “We are currently working on an alternative plan. The expectation is that the extinguishing work will take a long time yet,” the fire brigade said around 6:00 a.m.
In several areas, the smoke of the fire has left soot behind on cars, window frames, and garden furniture, among other things. The fire brigade advised locals to wash away the soot with warm and soapy water. If you have a vegetable garden, don’t eat the crops with visible soot on them, the fire brigade said.
