North Macedonia will commission an expert assessment to determine the extent of environmental damage caused by a large fire that broke out on Saturday at a recycling warehouse in the village of Trubarevo, near Skopje, Environment Minister Izet Mexhiti said on Sunday.
The blaze at the “F Grupaција” waste management facility raged for more than 15 hours before firefighters brought it under control, preventing it from spreading to nearby sites. Thick black smoke had covered parts of the capital during the fire, which also spread to several neighbouring buildings.
“Accredited laboratories have already been engaged to measure air quality and will continue monitoring in the coming days,” Mexhiti told a press conference. He said soil samples would also be taken, while an inspection of the operator’s documentation was under way.
Four people were treated for smoke inhalation, two of them hospitalized at the Clinic for Toxicology in Skopje, government spokesperson Marija Miteva said. Health Minister Azir Aliu and the clinic’s director were expected to provide more details later on Sunday.
Authorities said the company has a valid 10-year waste management licence, issued in 2021. Mexhiti stressed that the fire was the third involving waste facilities in recent weeks, after incidents at Vardarishte and Drisla landfills, calling it “an alarm that requires serious institutional mobilisation.”
Stojance Angelov, head of the Protection and Rescue Directorate, said firefighters had to use sand to extinguish burning lithium batteries and foam and water for other materials.
Asked about the type of pollutants released into the air, Mexhiti said initial results would be available later on Sunday and promised full transparency.