Vassiliko Cement fire caused by shredder

Vassiliko Cement suffered a fire over the weekend beause a tyre shredder ignited at the Cypriot cement plant.

The director of the environment department, Costas Hadjipanayiotou, who was at the scene on Saturday afternoon said it appeared the fire was caused by a malfunction in a tyre shredder that ignited the spark.

The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon in an open area filled with old tyres between the villages of Kalavasos and Mari, and was brought under control before midnight. Strong winds carried the fumes generated by the burning tyres upwards, environment commissioner Klelia Vasiliou told the Cyprus News Agency.

It took eight fire engines and a team of 25 firefighters working around the clock to bring the fire under control. An update on Monday morning said that two fire engines would remain at the scene, with a new team sent to monitor the fire, which was still not completely out due to the highly flammable nature of the tyres.