Modena, August 7, 2026 – For hours, several teams of firefighters, arriving from San Felice, Modena, and Finale Emilia have been trying to control a violent and worrying fire that broke out during the night, just before dawn at Eco.Ge.Ri. in Finale, with operational headquarters at via Napoli 12, in the heart of the Industrial Hub. The first warnings of what was happening inside the company’s warehouse, which deals with the recovery and preparation for recycling of urban solid waste, industrial waste, and biomass, were received around 3:40 AM. Since then, there has been a strong mobilization by the firefighters and the local Civil Protection.
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The plastic material caused the flames
The warehouse reportedly stored mainly plastic material, which caused fierce flames and a dense smoke cloud visible from a great distance, alarming many nearby populations concerned about the environmental risks involved. Technicians from Arpae also arrived on site. Fortunately, at that time none of the approximately 20 employees, who work daily in two shifts, were inside. However, the material damage appears to be very significant. It is difficult at this time to hypothesize what might have triggered the flames, but certainly the temperatures of these days, especially inside concrete warehouses, facilitated the fire.
The ordinance of Mayor Poletti
Arpae has already installed and positioned monitoring stations in the surrounding area to understand which substances have been released into the air. And the mayor of Finale Emilia, Claudio Poletti, issued a precautionary ordinance late in the morning recommending to close and keep doors, windows, and other openings of homes, offices, and workplaces closed; to deactivate air conditioning, ventilation, and air extraction systems that draw air from outside; to limit outings and time spent outdoors to cases of absolute necessity only; to suspend work, sports, leisure, and outdoor recreational activities; as well as to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables grown outdoors before consumption and to protect domestic and farm animals by keeping them indoors and safeguarding food and water from possible fallout of ashes or smoke.
