ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A large fire broke out at a fuel depot in Sulaimani’s Tanjaro area on Saturday, with initial reports indicating no casualties. Civil defense teams brought the blaze under control shortly after arriving at the scene.

According to The New Region’s correspondent, at least four civil defense teams were dispatched to control the fire, which threatened to spread to nearby fuel storage facilities.

Deputy Sulaimani Governor Shaho Osman told The New Region that civil defense teams arrived at the scene “as quickly as possible and brought the fire under control.”

Explaining the cause of the fire, Osman said that “workers were doing work on a pipe at the depot that contained naphtha fuel, which is why the fire broke out, and it was possible to bring it under control quickly.”

Sulaimani acting district mayor Fazil Omer told The New Region that efforts were underway to relocate the storage facilities to a safer area. He said facility owners must sign contracts with the district authorities to proceed with the relocation.

“From this week on, we will start closing down the storages who haven’t signed a contract,” Omer said.

He also urged owners who had signed contracts to begin operating from their new locations “as soon as possible.”

Tanjaro is an industrial zone and one of the province’s main fuel storage areas. The area is vulnerable to fires, with multiple incidents reported in the past that have raised safety concerns.

In August, a fire erupted at a fuel storage facility in the area, with the health directorate reporting at least 20 injuries.