Fire breaks out near Litvínov chemical plant, damage at 20 million

The fire was reported to the operations center on Saturday evening, shortly before 8:00 PM on Saturday, and was fully extinguished by approximately 12:30 AM on Sunday. Following consultations with the company’s technologists, firefighters allowed the remaining product to burn off while using water from 14 water cannons to cool the equipment. As a precaution, they also surrounded the affected area with heavy foam.

Unipetrol spokesperson Pavel Kaidl described the incident as a localized fire in the ethylene unit. According to Milan Rudolf, spokesperson for the Ústí nad Labem Region Fire and Rescue Service, investigators have revised the estimated damage caused by the fire at the Orlen Unipetrol chemical plant in Litvínov from CZK 50 million to CZK 20 million. The response effort saved property valued at half a billion crowns.

While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, a fish kill has been discovered in the nearby Bílina River. The exact scale of the environmental impact is still being assessed.