MONDI BURNS
Huge flames engulfed bales paper at the Mondi Recycling Buy Back Centre, last Tuesday afternoon. According to CEO of Mondi South Africa Theo van Breda, the fire began at the area where paper waste is stored before being recycled, which is adjacent to the Mondi Springs Mill.
“There were no serious injuries, and we have had a quick response from the fire department, as well as associated Mondi personnel.
We are still investigating the cause of the fire and when we know how it started, that information will be released to the media,” van Breda says, adding that the paper is expected to smoulder for a while.
Last Tuesday evening, the flames could still be seen from Springs sites who had heard of the news, parked their cars outside the gates to capture pictures of the blaze.
On Thursday morning, the last of the flames were extinguished by fire trucks that had been on standby since Tuesday. The damages are estimated at about R 7 million.
As mentioned above Mondi Paper in Springs had a fire on the 14th of October 2008, despite severe damage, they only had minor injuries with smoke inhalation. This is largely due to a well prepared and organised fire response team.
Companies that take Occupational Health Safety seriously benefit when disasters happen. The fire was contained and despite the potential of a huge fire and serious injuries, Mondi only had some employees that were exposed to smoke inhalation. The cost of the fire is substantial yet it could have been much worse.
It is when accidents such as this one happen that the importance of Occupational Health and Safety becomes clear. Therefore the old idiom is true and applies, “prevention is better than cure.” And it seems that Mondi Paper has got it right!
Make sure your company is also one of these!
MONDI BURNS
Huge flames engulfed bales paper at the Mondi Recycling Buy Back Centre, last Tuesday afternoon. According to CEO of Mondi South Africa Theo van Breda, the fire began at the area where paper waste is stored before being recycled, which is adjacent to the Mondi Springs Mill.
“There were no serious injuries, and we have had a quick response from the fire department, as well as associated Mondi personnel.
We are still investigating the cause of the fire and when we know how it started, that information will be released to the media,” van Breda says, adding that the paper is expected to smoulder for a while.
Last Tuesday evening, the flames could still be seen from Springs sites who had heard of the news, parked their cars outside the gates to capture pictures of the blaze.
On Thursday morning, the last of the flames were extinguished by fire trucks that had been on standby since Tuesday. The damages are estimated at about R 7 million.
As mentioned above Mondi Paper in Springs had a fire on the 14th of October 2008, despite severe damage, they only had minor injuries with smoke inhalation. This is largely due to a well prepared and organised fire response team.
Companies that take Occupational Health Safety seriously benefit when disasters happen. The fire was contained and despite the potential of a huge fire and serious injuries, Mondi only had some employees that were exposed to smoke inhalation. The cost of the fire is substantial yet it could have been much worse.
It is when accidents such as this one happen that the importance of Occupational Health and Safety becomes clear. Therefore the old idiom is true and applies, “prevention is better than cure.” And it seems that Mondi Paper has got it right!
Make sure your company is also one of these!