Marsa scrapyard fire blazes for hours, closing roads and evacuating workers

Updated 10.13pm

A fire that broke out at a Marsa scrapyard on Friday morning was contained five hours later, after it closed nearby roads and forced businesses to send workers home.

The Civil Protection Department said at around 3pm that the fire had now been "contained" but "firefighting operations are still ongoing".

CPD firefighters were still working on the scrapyard fire 12 hours later. Photo: CPD

The aftermath of the blaze, some 12 hours later. Photo: CPD

Large plumes of black smoke could be seen for miles from the blaze at the industrial site on Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi. 

It is the second major blaze to engulf the site in the past four years and the second time in a week that firefighters have had to tackle a scrapyard fire.  

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

A police spokesperson said the fire broke out at around 10am with emergency services attending the scene shortly after.

Firefighters were still tackling the blaze hours later and around 2pm, Lesa officials escorted a bowser of water through heavy traffic in the area. Transport Malta said its officers had undertaken similar escorts of bowsers to the site.

The Civil Protection Department (CPD) urged the public to avoid the area "due to safety concerns and ongoing emergency response operations".

CPD advised residents in Paola, Tarxien and other nearby localities to "keep all doors and windows closed as a precaution against smoke and fumes".

One resident living in Paola told Times of Malta he could smell a "smell like burning rubber" in his home, despite closing doors and windows. 

Photographs from the fire site show the scrapyard contained car wrecks, oil containers and other potentially toxic materials. 

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci warned that exposure to the smoke could lead to a "variety of respiratory and systemic symptoms", including coughing or wheezing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

Irritated or burning eyes, sore throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue and sinus or nasal congestion were also possible health impacts of smoke inhalation, she warned. 

Gauci advised those experiencing symptoms to contact the Telemedicine Primary Care Service (+356) 2123 1231.

LESA officials escort a bowser of water through traffic.

Road and air traffic affected

Photos and videos sent to Times of Malta show an intense fire and black smoke billowing out across the landscape.

Meanwhile, a plume of smoke emitted from the fire appeared visible from space.

Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi was reported as closed, according to Facebook page 'Maltese Roads Traffic Updates', which also reported heavy traffic on the surrounding roads.

Just after 10pm, a full 12 hours after the fire started, the CPD announced Triq Guseppi Garibaldi was now open northbound only. The southbound lane will remain closed "until further notice". 

Times of Malta is informed that at least one business in the area told staff to return home.

MCAST told its students and staff to keep doors and windows shut and remain indoors, while the Malta School of Music cancelled all lessons for the day.

Addolorata Cemetery was also closed for the rest of Friday. 

Meanwhile, light aircraft flights were suspended at Malta International Airport, which told Times of Malta that the main runway remained open with "no impact" to scheduled flights. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

The fire broke out at a Marsa scrapyard.

Smoke rises over Addolorata Cemetery.

Photo: Jonathan Borg.

Fire at same scrapyard four years ago

The same scrapyard was the scene of another massive fire four years ago, in September 2021.

The fire swept through the site in the dead of night, taking 29 firefighters, 11 vehicles and 320,000 litres of water to battle the flames.

The blaze could be seen from as far away as Mellieħa. Photo: Alan Chircop.

The fire had started at around midnight but was so massive that it was still producing a thick column of smoke by 8am that could be seen for miles, and people in Valletta and Sliema woke up to the smell of burning rubber.

Writing on Facebook, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri joined calls urging the public to avoid the area and keep doors and windows shut.

Responding to Camilleri's post, the Malta Ranger Unit said it hoped an investigation would be carried out to determine "why this happened twice in a short span of time".

This image captured by reader Leonora Azzopardi shows a rainbow arching underneath the smoke.[/attach]