On 12 August, a fire broke out in a chip conveyor at Södra's pulp mill in Mönsterås. The wind caused the fire to spread quickly to the chip stacks, but extensive efforts to extinguish the fire meant it was restricted to the surface of the stack and was then put out.


What is happening now?
Clearance work is currently in progress around the stack and in the culverts as it is important to ensure that no soot gets into the production area. The culverts under the chip stacks were relatively undamaged by the fire, but extensive restoration work still needs to be done.

The saw chip stack and pin chip stacks now have to be readied before operations restart so that chips can be supplied from there to the digesters. The chips for these stacks will be transported by road, and after that the temporary conveyor belt for the roundwood stack will be complete. At this point, the digester houses will be able to operate at full capacity.

Asphalting is also being carried out due to undermining of the stack surface and fire-damaged asphalt.

The project to restore and restart the mill, Operation Phoenix, should be finished in September.

Significant events
Ten out of twelve municipalities in the county deployed rescue personnel on site, and it is thought that almost 200 people were involved in putting out the fire.

The unloading of pulp was resumed at full capacity on Thursday, 18 August, and the saw was restarted on 16 August.

Heroic efforts have been made by both the factory's own rescue team and the external rescue services. Now work on planning, repairing, clearing, asphalting, procuring machine parts and resolving any problems that may occur as work progresses is continuing at a tremendous pace.