A fire broke out early yesterday at Carrefour’s logistics center in Taoyuan, but no one was injured, the city’s fire department said.
The fire appeared to have started on the first floor of the two-story warehouse in Yangmei District (楊梅), and firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after they received the report of the blaze at 7:33am, the department said.
An initial assessment indicated that no one was trapped in the Yangmei Logistics Distribution Center, and as of press time last night, the blaze had been brought under control, but not fully extinguished, it said.
Photo: CNA
Carrefour said in a statement that all staff at the logistics center on Meishi Road had been evacuated from the building and there were no reported injuries.
Operations at its hypermarkets across the nation remained normal, the French retailer said, adding that an investigation into the cause of the fire was under way.
The Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement that it would fine Carrefour NT$100,000 to NT$5 million (US$3,505 to US$175,254) for environmental pollution, as the thick black smoke from the fire generated pollutants that affected the air quality of the surrounding areas.
The environmental department said that it had been informed by Jhongli District’s (中壢) Xinyi Borough (信義) Warden Chiu Jen-te (邱仁德) that local residents had complained about foul air and grime resulting from the blaze.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said all warehouse facilities in the city would be inspected to improve fire prevention.
The Carrefour logistics center is the second warehouse in Taoyuan this month to catch fire. A blaze broke out at a similar facility in the city’s Lujhu District (路竹) late on Thursday night last week.
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