A team of 32 firefighters in northern Iraq is currently working to extinguish a massive fire that erupted at an oil refinery in Irbil. The fire started late Wednesday at a large refinery in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
According to officials, 14 firefighters sustained injuries while battling the blaze, with four individuals suffering burns and others affected by smoke inhalation. Tragically, the fire also destroyed four fire engines during the firefighting efforts.
The cause of the fire has not been definitively determined, but initial assessments suggest a lack of safety measures at the facility, including alarms and fire extinguishers. An anonymous regional government official indicated that the fire may have been triggered by an electrical fault.
The financial damages resulting from the refinery fire are estimated at $8 million, as confirmed by Irbil's Governor Omed Khoshnaw. The Khazir refinery, owned by local private businessmen, is a key producer of gasoline, kerosene, and white oil in the region, previously serving as a major supplier for the city of Mosul.
Notably, Iraq's Kurdish region is a significant oil producer, generating hundreds of thousands of barrels daily. However, exports have been halted for over a year due to a ruling in an international arbitration case, with the central government insisting on oil exports going through the Iraqi national oil company.
Summer fires in Iraq are often exacerbated by high temperatures, unreliable electricity, and inadequate safety standards in various facilities. Recent incidents include a fire in a bazaar in Erbil in May that destroyed numerous shops and storage units, as well as a massive fire in central Baghdad last Sunday that claimed the lives of four foreign Arab workers.
