Carpet Factory Fire Erupts again Overnight as Preparations are Made to Demolish Part of it

The fire that broke out at the Safra carpet factory on Friday erupted again overnight, reported Voice of Lebanon radio on Saturday.

It said that a diesel fuel leak from a nearby tank caused the new outbreak.

The radio revealed however that the army succeeded in containing 95 percent of the blaze.

Safra municipal head Samir al-Hawa told the station that the fire has not been completely extinguished.

MTV later reported that part of the building will be demolished.

It said that part of the Beirut-Jbeil highway near Safra has been closed ahead of the demolition.

Meanwhile, head of the Civil Defense Raymond Khattar said that the fire has spread to the lower floors of the building, which is filled with flammable material.

He revealed that millions of liters of water had been used to combat the flames since Friday.

In addition, he stated that six Civil Defense team members have suffered minor burns in their firefighting duties.

The factory blaze erupted on Friday morning as a result of an electric short circuit.

A huge part of the building had collapsed as a result of the fire.

The blaze, which erupted at 9:00 am on the 2,000-meter-square fourth floor, reached the fifth floor after a short while.

Red Cross Operations Director George Kettaneh told LBC television that there were no injuries although reports said five workers were given first aid for respiratory problems.

Although there is no information on the building's age, the factory, which has around 100 workers, says on its website that it has been a powerful name in the rug industry in Lebanon and the Middle East for nearly 40 years.