Kalinak: Fire at Snina Defence Plant Likely Started During Renovation

Snina/Bratislava, 16 September (TASR) - A fire at a production hall of ZVS Holding in Snina (Presov region) probably started during renovation work, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) declared on Wednesday.

According to Kalinak, production technology was not damaged by the fire and no production is currently taking place in the part of the hall where the fire started.

"The hall is undergoing renovation and the fire probably started during the renovation work," Kalinak said. He added that iron is processed in the hall and metal projectiles are produced there. The minister declined to speculate prematurely on the exact cause of the fire, but said it could have been ignited, for example, during welding.

The fire at the production complex of MSM Group in Snina has been brought under control and firefighters are continuing to deal with remaining hot spots. All employees were evacuated after the fire broke out and no one was injured, CSG Group spokesperson Andrej Cirtek told TASR. The fire started on the roof of the building during repair work being carried out by an external contractor. Production at the affected facility has been temporarily suspended over the incident.

"The extent of the damage, as well as the cause of the fire, will only be assessed later and become subject to further investigation. Until the investigation is completed, we won't comment on these matters in greater detail," Cirtek said, adding that the company was fully cooperating with firefighters and the relevant authorities. CSG does not expect the incident to affect its ability to meet its obligations to customers, citing the scale of its production capacity in Slovakia and other countries.