A large fire broke out in the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Tuscia, in Viterbo . The fire broke out shortly after 10:00, the flames starting from the roof of the agricultural building, where renovation work was underway.
The alarm was called off for one of the workers who were working on the roof of that building, who was reported missing, and was found safe and sound .
Some students and employees of the university and residents of the area went to the Santa Rosa hospital with symptoms of smoke intoxication. Laboratory chemicals and plastic also caught fire : in the area, in addition to a thick column of smoke visible for kilometers away, there was also an acrid smell.
The fire started from some rolls of tar sheathing that were on the roof of the building. The fire brigade has been operating on site since 10.15 with numerous teams and reinforcements arrived from Rome and Terni.
Students, teachers and staff were evacuated from offices and classrooms at the Riello campus, the fire also spread to another building. Alarm also for the underlying chemistry and genetics laboratories, where highly flammable substances were stored, including 500 liters of ethanol and nitrogen protoximide cylinders. Hence the need to create an evacuation cordon with a radius of 500 meters from the burning building .
The City Council is urging citizens to keep their windows closed due to the thick, black smoke rising from the fire site. It is also prohibiting the harvesting of wheat and cereals within a 1km radius of the fire site.
(Unioneonline/L)
