A fire that broke out on Wednesday at SK Packaging on Vijverwegel in Merelbeke-Melle is now fully under control.
Firefighters are expected to continue extinguishing hotspots throughout Thursday. “There are areas where water cannot reach easily. Therefore, we plan to bring in a crane to dismantle one of the warehouses to access the fire sources safely,” said zone commander Wim Van Zele.
The fire began at 13:15 on Wednesday in the company building. Due to the presence of flammable materials, it quickly turned into a fierce blaze with a large plume of smoke visible from afar. Two warehouses belonging to SK Packaging were destroyed in the flames. A third warehouse was allowed to burn out in a controlled manner by the firefighters. Additionally, an adjacent warehouse belonging to a meat processing company was also affected and burnt down. Houses in the vicinity were spared.
As of Thursday morning, firefighters were still on site extinguishing remaining hotspots. “There are several areas with smouldering fire that are difficult to reach,” said commander Van Zele. “These involve stacks of paper or wood that can continue to smoulder for a long time, but which water cannot easily penetrate. To access these areas safely, we aim to bring in a crane to dismantle a building.”
The smoke nuisance has mostly subsided, but the commander still expects his teams to remain on scene for a large portion of the day. “Everything depends, of course, on how quickly the crane can arrive and the demolition can progress,” added commander Van Zele.
