According to Siegwerk, a fire occurred in a production hall on the Siegwerk plant premises at around 09:15 on May 22, 2021. According to initial findings, the fire ignited during a solvent transfer operation and consequently spread inside the building. Investigations into the exact cause are still ongoing.

Siegwerk’s plant fire department intervened immediately. Further direct support came from the public fire department of the city of Siegburg as well as from surrounding fire departments from the Rhine-Sieg region. A total of around 330 firefighters were deployed.

The extensive outreach to fire department task forces and special equipment took place as a precaution. Due to the massive and targeted firefighting effort and the quick and prudent intervention of the fire departments, the fire was finally limited to one production room and the spread of the fire to other buildings was prevented.

Throughout the entire operation, there was always close coordination between Siegwerk's plant fire department, the plant emergency management team and the public fire department, including joint situation meetings between the emergency management team and the plant emergency management team. All measures, especially the need to inform residents, were taken in close coordination with the public fire department.

The two firefighters injured in the operation have since left the hospital. Siegwerk wishes them a speedy recovery.

Siegwerk issued the following statement:
“We would like to take this opportunity to once again express our sincere thanks to all the emergency services for their excellent cooperation at the scene. In particular, we would like to emphasize the unprecedented readiness and flexibility with which the colleagues of the plant fire department and the area public fire departments who came directly to Siegwerk to support the operation, some of them on their free time.”

Production operations at Siegwerk have gradually resumed, with some restrictions.