A fire at the Dulcesol factory in Gandia has set off all the alarms and forced the evacuation of the 500 employees who were at that time working the morning shift at the plant. The fire started around 11:20 in the morning on Wednesday inside the warehouse of the Vicky Foods company, in charge of producing the products of the well-known Valencian brand Dulcesol, located on the road Vell d’Oliva to Gandia.
Apparently the flames may have started in one of the bread manufacturing lines, according to some witnesses, a fact that is now being investigated to clarify specifically how the fire started. This fire has burned flour and plastics from inside the factory, generating intense smoke both inside the warehouse and in its surroundings that was visible throughout the industrial estate in which it is located south of Gandia.
The Emergency Center has reported that thirteen people have had to be treated for being affected by smoke inhalation. A 36-year-old woman and twelve men between 32 and 57 years old who had to be transferred by ambulance to the Francesc de Borja hospital in Gandia.
The ventilation of the area where the fire occurred, as it is a place where cooking processes are carried out, has generated a large amount of smoke, which has been the main problem in this fire and has caused thirteen injuries through inhalation.
Furthermore, the smoke screen that spread in the first moments has made it necessary for the Gandia Local Police to cut off traffic on the closest road, Alicante Avenue, which gives access to the town’s hospital, and for traffic in the outskirts of the city were affected. A few minutes later, when the intense smoke had dissipated, traffic was able to reopen to restore normal circulation.
Seven fire crews, from Gandia and Alzira, in addition to four commanders from the Provincial Consortium have worked on the ship to completely extinguish the flames. After two in the afternoon the fire was considered under control although the work continued to finish ventilating the entire affected area of the industrial warehouse.
«The company’s evacuation protocols have worked very well, with quick action by the workers. “Thanks to the fact that the fire occurred in a confined, very limited area, it has been encouraged that it does not spread much and that they even consider returning to work,” commented the mayor of Gandia, José Manuel Prieto, who attended the post. command during Wednesday morning.
The nearly 500 workers of this company who were at their jobs at the time of the fire have quickly left the facilities when the fire broke out following the instructions of the protocols established by the company. This evacuation has been carried out as a precaution and to facilitate the tasks of the firefighters since not the entire plant had been affected by the fire. Quickly, the safety protocol was activated and firefighters and Local Police went to the facilities to contain the fire.
The Dulcesol factory in Gandia has a total constructed area of more than 47,000 square meters and houses 16 pastry and sweets manufacturing lines. The company has been coordinating efforts to resume its activity during the day and continue production except for the only line affected by the fire.