Fire Breaks Out at Ammunition Warehouse at Military Factory near Belitsa; No Casualties Reported

UPDATED Fire Breaks Out at Ammunition Warehouse at Military Factory near Belitsa; No Casualties Reported

Metodi Yordanov, BTA correspondent Radoslav Parvanov, Kaloyan Kirilov

The BG-ALERT warning issued as a result of the fire at the EMCO Ltd. ammunition plant in the central village of Belitsa, August 10, 2026 (BTA Photo/Radoslav Parvanov)

Village of Belitsa, Central Bulgaria,

10.08.2026 13:44 | UPDATED 10.08.2026 18:27

(BTA)

A fire broke out at an ammunition warehouse at the EMCO military plant near the village of Belitsa, Tryavna Municipality. There have been no fatalities or injuries, Tryavna Mayor Dencho Minev said in a Facebook post. According to him, the fire has been extinguished. All workers were evacuated by buses operated by EMCO Ltd. A task force involving all law enforcement authorities has been set up at the site.

There is currently no evidence of foreign interference, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told reporters. The entire warehouse has burned down. No other buildings have been affected. The fire is currently under control, the Interior Minister also said.

“Work is currently underway to extinguish fires that have spread through wooded areas near the site of the incident. The causes of the fire will only be established at a later stage,” he added. The area has been cordoned off and unauthorized persons are not being allowed in. The road at the turnoff for the village of Armyankovtsi has been closed and a checkpoint has been set up, a BTA reporter saw.

Due to smoke and air pollution, authorities urged people to keep the windows of their homes closed, use protective masks and avoid going outdoors. Minev added that a mobile station for monitoring air quality would be installed in the town of Plachkovtsi due to the spread of thick smoke over a wide area.

The Gabrovo regional governor activated the BG-ALERT system because of the fire. Citizens were urged to follow the instructions of Interior Ministry authorities and avoid the area of the incident.

Speaking to reporters in Plovdiv, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said that nearby settlements were being evacuated as a precaution. The causes of the incident are being investigated, but they are more likely to be internal, the Minister said. When explosive materials are involved, measures must be taken to protect the lives and health of firefighters as well, he said.

During a briefing at the site of the incident, Slavcho Dimiev, manager at EMCO, said that the exact cause of the fire has not yet been established. One of the possible explanations is the spontaneous ignition of a propellant charge. “That is one of the possibilities,” he stressed, adding that the cause can be determined only after inspections and analyses have been carried out by the competent authorities.

According to him, a sufficient period of time must be allowed to pass before all operations at the site can be carried out, as there is a risk of secondary ignition.

“We want to make sure that, in the event of the fire spreading, no people will be injured and the flames will not spread to other buildings,” the Minister added.

In a later briefing, Minev said the warehouse contained no toxic materials and posed no radiation risk. Residents, mostly elderly, were being evacuated as crews tackled a forest fire that had spread nearly three kilometres from the plant. Protocol required a wait of at least 24 hours to assess the risk of further explosions. The incident began when a truck caught fire, triggering explosions in some warehouses.

Addressing reporters, Director of the General Directorate of Fire Safety and Civil Protection Aleksandar Dzhartov confirmed that the fire had been brought under control, with no current risk of it spreading to a wider area. Air quality measurements have found no deviations from normal levels, he added.

EMCO later ruled out human error, saying the incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. at its storage facility near Tryavna. The company said no forest areas or third-party property were affected, there was no environmental pollution and the cause remained under investigation. EMCO recalled similar incidents at its facilities in 2011, 2022 and 2023 and at other defence manufacturers, including VMZ Sopot in spring 2015, saying the investigations remained stalled.

/MY/