Residual flames put out at Nan Ya Plastics following Sunday blaze

New Taipei, April 8 (CNA) All residual flames have been extinguished at a Nan Ya Plastics Corp. factory in New Taipei following a fire that broke out there early Sunday and resulted in a pollution warning but no injuries.

Tseng Tien-jou (曾天柔), who heads the New Taipei Fire Department's Second Emergency and Rescue Corps, said residual flames were finally stamped out by firefighters at around 6 a.m. Monday at the factory in Taishan District.

The blaze broke out in a five-floor reinforced concrete building in the factory complex at around 2 a.m. Sunday and burned an area of 2,857 square meters before being brought under control at 3:30 a.m.

Although the main blaze was put out later Sunday afternoon, there were still residual flames at the site, Tseng said.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries from the fire, the cause of which is still being investigated. The company's losses have been initially estimated at about NT$14.30 million (US$444,924).

Due to the incident, a pollution warning was subsequently issued by the New Taipei Environmental Protection Bureau for residents across several of the city's districts, including Linkou, Xinzhuang and Shulin.

On Monday, the bureau said the warning was lifted in the morning because air quality readings taken downwind of the fire did not show a high concentration of particulate pollution and there was no lingering foul odor in the air.

When the fire happened, the bureau said it asked Nan Ya Plastics to help collect the fire suppression foam used by firefighters to extinguish the fire to prevent it from contaminating nearby water sources.

The company failed to do so, however, as environmental inspectors found pieces of foam washed into a stream on Monday morning, it said.

Na Ya Plastics could face a fine of up to NT$6 million for contravention of the Water Pollution Control Act for this major oversight, as well as a NT$5 million fine for violating the Air Pollution Control Act as a result of the blaze.