Thursday, 18 August 2011 13:00

The fire at Södra Cell Mönsterås is now considered to be under control.

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alt"We will be concluding the formal rescue work during the afternoon," said Ingemar Idh, who has headed up the rescue and fire-fighting operations.

At its peak, some 50 people from 10 rescue services took part in helping to put out the fire. SCM resources from Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm were called to take advantage of their substantial pump capacity. Five helicopters have been used to drop water on the fire, two of which came from Norway.

On Wednesday, the leaders of the rescue operation decided that formal firefighting efforts could be concluded.

"The buildings that we protected are not in the risk zone, and so Södra Cell will be taking over responsibility for the ongoing operation. But the high-powered water cannons from SCM will be here until Friday night, and the Mönsterås rescue services will also continue to manage the rescue operation," said Mr Idh.

Intensive work is in progress to recommission the mill, although this process is unlikely to be complete until early September. Cleanup work and inspection of the shaker shoe and belt conveyors is in progress. Damping down and inspection of the sawdust heaps are ongoing, and charred chips damaged by the fire are being removed.

An investigation is in progress into the cause of the fire. "This will allow us also to decide whether there are any shortcomings in our procedures and to rectify any that we find," said Carsten Wieger, site manager for Södra Cell Mönsterås.

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Read 6663 times Last modified on Thursday, 18 August 2011 10:46