The state of fire safety in the industrial zone Impol is not worrying. Professional firefighters have in the first eleven months registered 11 elementary fires, mostly put out by employees. The damage was estimated to only around one million SIT.

The reasons for fires in the new rolling mill Bistral 3 require a more serious consideration. Firefighters had to be called to the site five times in one year. It is evident that the installation is operating under heavier loads as other rolling mills and higher velocities are used in the rolling process. According to Jože Brglez, head of the fire safety department, the rolling mill uses a strong extinguishing system for its protection. However, in the critical moment, it is very important that the people working on the device act swiftly and correctly. Therefore, training is very important for handling in such cases.

A unit of professional firefighters has carried out a night exercise of fire extinction and rescue from the production hall of the program unit Folija at the end of October. The exercise was comprehensive, since they tested the alarm system and the operating of the stable device for fire extinction, which operates on the basis of CO2 gas. Evacuation of all employees was also carried out and firefighters also presented various ways of fire extinction by using a modern firefighter’s outfit. During the exercise, firefighters carried out measures for environmental protection and presented equipment, which prevents the outflow of foam into and water pollution of the Bistrica river.

The exercise was carried out for the first time without the assistance of neighboring firefighter’s units and with own equipment. Five voluntary firefighters from the program unit Folija also participated. Employees and firefighters, participating in the exercise, showed a lot of eagerness to carry out the necessary measures. There were also some problems, for instance the access paths for emergency vehicles were not free and due to the lack of fire vehicles the transport of additional firefighter’s outfit had to be improvised. Voluntary firefighters also did not have protective clothing for firefighters, etc.

In order to put out such an extensive fire, it would be reasonable to arrange a connection for an easier abstraction of water from the pool near the rolling mill.