Roughly 130,000 cartridges prepared for delivery were destroyed after a fire broke out at a warehouse part of the Cugir Mechanical Plant, in central Romania, on Saturday, August 2. No victims were reported, and an investigation is currently ongoing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fire started around 2 AM, initially over an area of 300 square meters, which later expanded to around 700. Residents near the hall were alerted via the Ro-Alert system. ISU also transmitted that \u201cexplosions could be heard within the area affected by the fire, but the intervention forces were stationed at a distance, in the safety zone.\u201d By 8 AM, robot-assisted emergency crews managed to put out the flames.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roughly 400,000 cartridges were stored in the destroyed warehouse, with an estimated value of EUR 5 million, according to Biziday<\/a>. Authorities have launched an investigation into destruction by negligence.<\/p>\n After arriving at the scene, economy minister Radu Miru\u021b\u0103 refused to comment on the possibility of sabotage and noted that all options are being taken into consideration.<\/p>\n Later on, the official said that the damages amount to roughly EUR 400,000-500,000, but that ongoing contracts will not be impacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, he stated that the fire manifested \u201caggressively\u201d and that for four hours, boxes of cartridges exploded. \u201cSimply put, box after box of cartridges exploded until around 4 in the morning, so for about four hours,\u201d the minister said.\u00a0No victims were reported, and the damages are relatively small.\u00a0<\/p>\n Like many EU countries, Romania has been ramping up<\/a> its ammunition and defense production capabilities in recent years, following partnerships with the United States and European allies. The Cugir Plant produces 9 mm automatic and semi-automatic pistols, along with other accessories.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is not the first incident to take place at the Cugir Plant, which was founded in 1799 as an iron foundry by the Austrian Empire. Another fire<\/a> accompanied by explosions took place at the same factory in 2020, with two people injured.<\/p>\n