Rapid response saves businesses

The black column of smoke, which rose above Olpe in June 2017, shortly after 5.00 pm, could be seen for miles around. In an industrial park located in Dahl in Olpe, Germany, the warehouse of an agricultural machinery dealer went up in flames. The fire brigade was soon on the scene to tackle the blaze, with reinforcements from the German towns of Wenden, Attendorn and Drolshagen. POLYGONVATRO was also immediately at the scene of the fire.

The fire began on the roof, most likely as a result of a faulty transformer in the photovoltaic unit. It quickly spread and the stockroom, workshops and office area were consumed by flames. Luckily, no-one was injured. However, the fire would potentially cost the company millions in damages – the warehouse was completely burnt down. Tractors and agricultural machinery were, in some cases, completely destroyed by the fire. The thick, black smoke marked everything. When the fire was put out, the race against time started.

Damage control through rapid response
After a fire, the first few hours are crucial for mitigating the overall extent of the damage. The more time that passes by, the greater the consequential damages are, as a result of contamination and the extinguishing water. So you must act fast! 

That very same evening, ten Polygon employees were on site to undertake these important initial measures. Andreas Weber, Director of Polygon in Germany, was on hand to help. He assisted in salvaging the business records until late at night. The next day, our employees continued damage control and the roof was covered with emergency sealing, scaffolding was assembled and the sales floor was separated from the damaged area with partition walls.

Our restoration professionals also began to immediately decontaminate machines, motorbikes and bikes. For 10 days, up to 40 Polygon employees worked continuously on damage restoration. Then, building restoration measures began. The entire burnt down warehouse had to be demolished – the roofs and hall ceiling of the main building were successfully renovated and re-roofed.

Strong commitment and lots of helpers
The whole of Olpe had been alerted to the fire and the town came out in force to help. As they say, everyone rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in.

Thanks to numerous helpers and everyone’s high level of commitment, the worst of the fire was quickly overcome.
Everyday life was soon able to get back to normal.