The fact that emergency services were on alert because of Operation "Cast Lead" and the direction in which the wind was blowing prevented the fire which erupted in an Ashdod chemical factory last week from becoming a catastrophic event, the Kneset's Internal Affairs and Environmental Protection Committee learned.
The committee convened Tuesday to discuss the fire’s cause and the lessons learned from it. Ashdod Fire Chief Danny Sasson stated that he does not know the cause of the fire, and the matter is being investigated. However, he thinks that the fire in the Agan Chemical Plant was caused by a chemical reaction. In the meantime, other causes such as electrical problems, arson, or rocket strike have been ruled out.
According to Sasson, the Code Red fire alarm in Ashdod was sounded a few minutes after the blaze broke out, prompting 15 firefighters to rush to the scene of the blaze. Fifty-three firefighters, together with Yassam special police forces and the Israeli Air Force put out the blaze two hours after it erupted.
Sasson said that in peacetime, only four firefighters man the fire station. Had the IDF’s operation in Gaza not taken place, the number of firefighters and their promptness in arriving at the scene would have been greatly reduced. The fire’s aftermath would have have been devastating, he believes, as the fire fighters would not have been able to overcome the fire as quickly as they did.
In addition, burning objects from within the Ashdod plant flew into the air, compromising the firefighters’ ability to overcome the fire. Had the massive number of firefighters not have been present, Sasson is sure that the fire would have spread to adjacent buildings. “The firefighters would not have been able to overcome the fire by themselves,” Sasson commented.
Plant manager David Nir stated that when the fire broke out, the emergency crew arrived, and began to shoot foam in order to separate the storage area from the production area. However, Police Chief Danny Albert feels that the fire was completely out of control due to the factory’s initial delay in contacting the fire department, which he claims caused Ashdod’s residents to panic. “Tens of thousands of residents in southern Ashdod were instructed to enter their homes,” Albert said, “To our great fortune, a eastern wind blew a smoke cloud towards the sea, and not towards Moshav Nir Galim [a nearby populated area]. Extremely hazardous chemicals, such as bromide and chloride, are stored at the plant, and we didn’t know which substances were burning.”'
'Irresponsible Safety Announcements'
Dr. Yossi Inbar, assistant director of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, criticized what he calls a dangerous and irresponsible announcement broadcast on the radio, calling for the entire Ashdod populate to evacuate. “It’s precisely the opposite from what one would need to do in such a case – to remain inside one’s home,” Dr. Inbar said.
Dr. Anat Rosen, who chairs Ashdod’s Environmental Protection committee, stated that the factory is dangerous and too close to a populated area, and “is at a standard of only 75 percent of the environmental requirements.” A resident representing Moshav Nir Galim demanded that the factory be moved elsewhere. Knesset Member Yoram Marciano (Labor) remarked, “Regarding the concern of Ashdod residents, one must also safeguard the plant workers. The transfer of the plant would harm the income of hundreds of residents, without proof that it really is life-threatening.”
After a suggestion was made to review the law limiting chemical plants' ability to operate near a populated area, Knesset Member Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) concluded, “This is not an isolated event. The dangers are enormous. If we will continue to make exceptions in the supervision and enforcement, this will return to us like a boomerang.”