A fire inside the Valor Chocolate factory in La Vila Joiosa on Friday afternoon saw over 200 employees and visitors evacuated from both the factory and the company museum.
The fire was confined to a cooling plant where a number of compressors began to discharge thick black smoke, the reasons for which are still a matter for investigation.
The company explained in a statement that “during the manufacturing process on Friday afternoon at it’s Valor Chocolate Valor plant in Villajoyosa, as soon as the dense smoke was first seen the factory’s emergency plan was immediately put into action, thanks to which there were no injuries with everyone, both on site and in the museum properly accounted for.
The note adds, with regard to the fire, that “it was quickly brought under control, s a result of a joint operation composed of Firefighters, Local Police and the Civil Guard, who worked hard to bring it under control and quickly extinguish the fire.”
The fire was reported just after 5pm inside a large room containing several refrigeration machines. It had been brought under control by 6.35 p.m., and completely extinguished by 8.36pm.
An investigation is now being carried out into the causes of the fire by both the firefighters, and the state security forces and bodies, to “guarantee the safety of all Chocolates Valor personnel and to ensure that a similar situation does not occur again.”
