“A fire broke out in a factory in the Timari Gawra industrial area on the Erbil-Makhmour road due to a gas leak,” Erbil civil defense spokesperson Shakhawan Saeed told Rudaw.
Saeed said that the fire started in the guards’ quarters when they were drawing gas from a hose. “The gas leaked from the hose and caused the fire,” he said.
The blaze caused no casualties but incurred significant material damage.
At least 2,057 fires have been reported in Erbil over the past ten months, according to data obtained from Saeed on Monday.
Fires are a perennial concern in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region where proper safety standards are often lacking. Many buildings ignore safety standards. They lack adequate fire extinguishers and emergency facilities such as evacuation roots and emergency exits.
At least 19 people died in fire-related incidents in the first half of this year, according to Erbil’s civil defense unit.
A total of 7,546 fire incidents were recorded across the Kurdistan Region in 2022, according to police data.
