Swiss media report that a fire in the Swisspor factory in Steinhausen on 25 May has caused over €6 million damage. Swisspor manufactures polystyrene insulation sheets. Sandor Horvath, a police spokesperson, confirmed that the fire broke out in a post-combustion unit. The alarm was raised at 19:30 and 450 fire and rescue service personnel attended. By 23:30 the fire was out but the factory was totally destroyed.

Smoke rose hundreds of metres into the air and over a hundred people were evacuated from their homes as a precautionary measure. The railway line was also closed. 1800 people worked at the factory, which will be rebuilt while production is temporarily displaced to other sites in Switzerland and Austria.

There was no mention of the presence of a sprinkler system in this factory. A sprinkler system designed for this risk could have prevented fire spread and all the huge economic and societal consequences.