Avellino. Arson has not been ruled out, but it will be difficult, and especially difficult, to determine what caused the fire that destroyed ICS yesterday, a factory producing plastic casings for car batteries in the Pianodardine industrial area of Avellino. Small fires remain, which firefighters are monitoring. Last night, a wing of the production building also collapsed. High temperatures irreparably damaged the structure, which employed 22 people until 1:00 PM yesterday. The fire appears to have started in an outdoor area used as a warehouse, where plastic materials and wooden pallets were stacked. The flames quickly spread throughout the plant, threatening a concrete processing plant and a fuel station. The entire area is now under seizure by order of the Avellino Public Prosecutor's Office. The investigation, coordinated by Deputy Prosecutor Vincenzo D'Onofrio, will establish not only any possible culprits in starting the fire, but also what subsequently malfunctioned in the fire prevention system. Yesterday evening, plant manager Franco Vona was interviewed for hours to reconstruct the hours leading up to the blaze and verify the fire prevention measures adopted at the company. Meanwhile, the thick black cloud that until yesterday evening covered the industrial area of Avellino and many surrounding municipalities has cleared, but the full impact on the district of 200,000 inhabitants is still unknown. In the municipalities threatened by dioxin contamination, ARPAC has activated widespread 48-hour monitoring using mobile monitoring stations, which will provide initial results on air pollution levels this morning. As a precaution, schools will be closed today in Avellino and in the municipalities designated by the prefecture as a state of emergency. Markets in the affected area have also been canceled, and many events and celebrations planned for this weekend are at risk.
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