Lightning strike on a container causes fire at Chibatão Port

A lightning strike in a container caused a fire in Porto do Chibatão, located in Manaus. The fire started around 4 pm on Tuesday, August 18 whilst it was raining.  According to the Amazonas Military Fire Brigade (CBM-AM), 35 containers were close to the container where the fire in Porto do Chibatão started. Among them, 14 stored gas and sulfuric acid, which could have caused an explosion. The area affected by the fire resulting from the electrical discharge is the responsibility of the Carrier ATR. The smoke was seen in different parts of Manaus and a toxic smell was felt in the vicinity of the port.

More than 300,000 liters of water were used to contain the flames. Foam Generating Liquid (LGE) was also used to help control the fire. Five Auto-Pump Tank vehicles and four support vehicles worked to combat fire. Some of the containers were even removed from the site by forklifts to prevent the fire from spreading.  There were no reports of injuries, only material damage. The fire was contained after 14 hours.

Porto do Chibatão has an area of about 1 million square meters. It is located in the heart of the Manaus Industrial Pole and has a static load capacity of 40,000 TEUs.

The following video shows the container on fire:

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