Marsa fire 'pushed emergency teams to their limits' - CPD
It took five million litres of water, 170 firefighters, 30 vehicles and 24 hours to put out the fire
The operation to extinguish the Marsa scrapyard fire on Friday pushed emergency teams to their limits and showcased an "extraordinary level of endurance, coordination and courage", the Civil Protection Department (CPD) said on Saturday afternoon.
In a Facebook post announcing that the fire had been fully extinguished after “a relentless 24-hour battle”, the CPD also gave details of what the operation entailed.
A total of 4.7 million litres of water and 30,000 litres of firefighting foam were used. The operation took 24 hours of uninterrupted firefighting and involved 153 firefighters, 16 senior fire officers and 30 fire appliances.
Thanking the agencies that assisted in the operation, including private water contractors, the CPD said the incident “stands as a reminder of the strength and resilience of Malta’s emergency services united in purpose, driven by duty and unwavering in the mission: To Save and Protect”.
Although the fire, which broke out off Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi after 10am on Friday, was contained within five hours, firefighting operations were still ongoing on Saturday morning.
Friday's fire was the second major blaze to engulf the same site in the past four years, and the second time in a week that firefighters have had to tackle a scrapyard fire.
On Friday, large plumes of black smoke could be seen for miles from the blaze and the fire was even visible from space.
One source close to the operation said the fire was not even the only incident the CPD had to tend to between Friday and Saturday.
Officers were also called to fight a grass fire, assist in two road traffic accidents and provide assistance to several individuals across the islands throughout the 24 hours during which they were fighting the Marsa fire.
He said that although the flames were tamed on Friday, officers were still constantly monitoring the "tonnes" of scrap with thermal image cameras, to ensure they could detect any small flames that could still be burning beneath the heaps of metal and other scrap.
The main road connecting Marsa to Luqa was closed off all day on Friday and only opened on Saturday morning, with CPD urging drivers to drive cautiously.
In a Facebook post, Transport Malta thanked its officers for their work "in these very difficult circumstances" as it announced that Triq Garibaldi has now been fully reopened to traffic.
They also thanked the public for the cooperation.