Bosbrand in de Gironde, Frankrijk
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In August 1999, a devastating earthquake struck the Izmit region of Turkey, triggering a large-scale tank fire at the Tüpraş oil refinery, one of the country’s most critical industrial facilities. The fire started when flammable liquid (naphtha) leaked from a damaged tank and caught fire. Due to the earthquake, many water pipelines were broken, making it nearly impossible to fight the fire with local equipment.
Faced with an escalating industrial disaster, Turkey called for international support, prompting widespread evacuations within a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) radius of the refinery. Among the first to respond were specialized firefighting units from Germany, including teams from Frankfurt Fire Brigade and Erdöl Raffinerie Emsland, equipped with Hytrans mobile water transport systems.
The Hytrans systems made a crucial difference. They pumped large amounts of (sea)water over long distances, bypassing the broken infrastructure to supply enough cooling water. This helped ground teams and firefighting planes continue their efforts with water and foam.
Ondanks de vernietiging van ten minste 17 opslagtanks en complexe pijpleidingsystemen werd de brand na vijf dagen van intensieve gezamenlijke inspanningen onder controle verklaard.
Dit geval laat zien hoe Hytrans oplossingen niet alleen zijn ontworpen voor extreme omgevingen zoals deze tankbrand, maar ook snel kunnen worden ingezet als onderdeel van internationale noodcoördinatie.
