Tripoli fire fighters call for support to control warehouse blaze

A warehouse blaze that has been burning much of today has proved impossible for Tripoli’s fire brigade to control, leading the force to call in help from outside the capital.

“There were just two fire engines here earlier,” a local resident told the Libya Herald, “but some more came later. They told me they had asked fire engines from outside Tripoli to come and help fight this terrible blaze.”

The fire broke out at around 1.30 pm in a large warehouse apparently used for storing wooden doors and building materials in the Dreibi district of the capital.

Black plumes of smoke were still billowing from the premises at 6.30 pm and people could be seen on top of a nearby building trying to help control the fire.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known. One local person said that he thought it had been started by an electrical power surge but another said the fire had been sparked during welding work inside the warehouse.

Major roads leading to the scene had been cordoned off by army and police personnel and smaller side roads were being controlled by casually-dressed armed men.

A security official told the Libya Herald that, as far as he knew, no-one had been injured in the blaze.