SG PETANI – Residents are concerned over air pollution after a blaze engulfed a plastic recycling factory here, sending smoke billowing in the pre-dawn incident today.
After spending hours trying to put out the fire, local firefighters had to call for backup from other districts and neighbouring Penang.
Residents said this is not the first time a plastic processing facility has caught fire, but what concerns them is if toxic materials have been released into the air.
Sg Petani has a reputation as the plastic recycling capital of the northern region.
Kedah Fire and Rescue Department operations division assistant director senior Supt Mohamadul Ehsan Zain said it received a distress call about 1.18am and a team with a fire engine was immediately deployed to the scene.
The fire was only contained around 5.30am.
He said fire engines from Tikam Batu, Aman Jaya and Yan also rushed to the scene, and a water tanker joined the operations shortly.
“A total of 37 firemen and officers, and 20 men from voluntary firefighting teams joined the operation. We managed to bring the fire under control hours later. We are monitoring some debris that may be burning still,” he said.
No one was injured in the incident.
Ehsan said firemen also faced difficulties getting water supply from fire hydrants.
He added that the department received assistance from the Sg Petani Municipal Council through the fire control centre here. – The Vibes, November 21, 2020
