There was another major fire at Fire-Up firelighter factory in Oisterwijk on Monday. And that’s not the first time. In recent years, Fire-Up has been hit several times, which, despite permits and measures, has turned into a headache file for the municipality. The unrest surrounding the factory is great in the village. An overview of past incidents.
1997: the first hit
The firelighter factory has a rich but very troubled history in Oisterwijk. To start with the first fire, we have to go back to 1997. Fire-up does not officially exist yet: that name was only created shortly after the turn of the century.
Before that, the company was called ‘Peko’ and it is still located on Sprendlingenweg. In 1997 Peko . goes according to regional newspaper Brabants Dagblad ‘in flames’, but hardly any images or details of the fire are available.
2013: the first major fire in nearly two decades
The next major fire in the company, which after 2006 was in the hands of entrepreneur Kees van Opstal, was a long time coming, but in 2013 it was successful. On the Laarakkerweg, where the company is then located, a large fire breaks out in the factory on 19 June.
A large cloud of smoke moves over Oisterwijk and Tilburg. Ash is falling all over Oisterwijk. The damage turns out to be enormous, because the firelighter factory can no longer be saved. At the end of the day, only a fire-resistant wall remains. The cause can no longer be found.
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2019: a year full of misery
Then it stays quiet for years. In 2016 there was still a small fire in the factory in the extraction system, but the fire was quickly extinguished. Yet the peace does not last long. In fact, in the second half of 2019, the company is really ravaged by fire outbreaks. The first, at the end of July, is the largest: the fire brigade spends hours extinguishing a shed with firelighters on the Nedervonder.
Owner Kees van Opstal then indicates that he ‘just wants to continue’ with the factory. He does, but not without another fire that year – four times in a few days. A new oil appears to be the cause of the four recent fires. As a result, it was decided in consultation with the municipality and the fire brigade to have part of the storage removed and destroyed on Thursday.
The business is still going on. In mid-October, Fire-Up will start making firelighters again. This time, the company has taken several safety measures to prevent overheating in the blocks. Sensors are in contact with the company’s fire alarm system. In addition, there are daytime inspections of the storage.
The containers with pallets are also closed almost airtight. These measures are sufficient for the municipality of Oisterwijk, which halted work at the company on September 21.
2022: Permits at stake
This week it happened again. The fire broke out in the night from Sunday to Monday. The fire extinguishing system with foam was used to extinguish the fire, but the fire flared up again on Monday morning. The fire brigade is still fighting the fire, which is raging in a large shed. A lot of smoke is released during the fire. The fire is difficult to fight, because there is a lot of combustible material in the shed.
View the big fire in firelighter factory from the air here:
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The property can almost certainly be considered lost. The municipality of Oisterwijk will conduct in-depth research into the very large. Mayor Hans Janssen is not afraid to ‘depending on the results of the investigation take far-reaching steps in the context of licensing’, he says. The factory could lose its permits.
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