Fire in Bitumen Tank in Bandar Abbas Caused at Least One Billion Tomans in Damage

As news emerged about the containment of a fire at the 'Sang Meh' bitumen production factory in western Bandar Abbas, the governor of the city stated that this incident has left damages exceeding one billion tomans. According to ILNA news agency, Ahmad Pouyafer mentioned on Thursday, January 25, that the final damage assessment will be announced after expert evaluations. The governor of Bandar Abbas explained that the fire on Wednesday, January 24, was caused by welding operations that ignited the fuel tank, and the fire was extinguished after 18 hours on Thursday morning. He reported that three workers were killed and two others were injured in this incident. Meanwhile, Fereydoun Hemmati, the governor of Hormozgan, stated: 'We are cooling down the site of the fire in the bitumen and mazut tank, and equipment is in place to prevent the fire from reigniting.' He attributed the cause of the incident to 'carelessness in welding' and added that since the incident site was near a refinery, a steel factory, and a shipbuilding yard, all available resources were mobilized. At the same time, Ahmad Moradi, the head of the Hormozgan representatives in the parliament, said that 'the dimensions of this incident must be examined to prevent similar occurrences in the future.' Previously, there had been fires in some factories and industrial units related to the oil industry, including a fire at one of the Tehran oil refinery units on October 27, which resulted in six deaths and four injuries. Earlier, Hassan Hashemi, the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, reported on January 19 that over 2000 people had died due to work-related accidents, stating that 40% of workshops lack 'necessary safety.' In this context, several labor activists have previously criticized government agencies, especially the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. Abolfazl Ashraf Mansouri, the head of the National Association of Safety and Health Officials, pointed out on Thursday that Article 95 of the Labor Law places the responsibility for implementing safety regulations on employers, adding that 'the safety officer in the workshop has no authority and is under the influence of the employer.' He criticized the limited powers of safety officials in Iranian workshops, stating that 'for example, accident reports are prepared with the employer's interference.' He noted that 'ultimately, the employer signs the report, and there may be injustices in this process,' adding that 'the employer does not want to bear the burden of paying blood money and criminal responsibilities for an incident resulting from their negligence.' The head of the National Association of Safety and Health Officials stated that when the safety officer, as a worker in the workshop, receives a salary from the employer, they become 'defenseless,' saying that 'the employer can dismiss the safety officer or refuse to renew their contract over the slightest disagreement.' He emphasized that 'some workers and employers do not comply with the safety officer,' stating that 'first and foremost, we must ask the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare to consider the job security of the workshop safety officer in the relevant regulations.'