A large-scale ecological and fire situation is unfolding in the Kirovohrad region, which has already lasted for four days. Near the village of Zarya in the Pervozvanivka community, former sewage settling ponds belonging to the non-operating OKPP "Dnipro-Kirovohrad" facility are burning. The incident has escalated into a serious threat to public health, as thick smoke from the smoldering waste has reached the regional center — Kropyvnytskyi.
Scale of the disaster and rescue operations
The situation at the scene remains tense. According to the State Emergency Service (SES), rescuers carried out active fire suppression operations throughout the night. As of 07:30 on August 18, 2026, approximately 2.8 hectares of the settling pond territory had been flooded with water. Despite these efforts, work to fully extinguish the fire continues. The complexity of the situation is exacerbated by weather conditions: strong winds contribute to the rapid spread of toxic smoke, which covers not only the village of Zarya itself but also surrounding settlements.
Ecological crisis and air pollution
The fire at the sewage settling ponds poses not only a threat of fire spread but also a serious ecological risk. Specialists have recorded a critical deterioration of air quality in the region. Laboratory tests revealed that the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) of several hazardous substances have been exceeded. In particular, formaldehyde levels are exceeded by two times, dust concentration by 1.5 times, and sulfur anhydride content by 1.3 times. This creates a direct threat to the respiratory system of residents, especially vulnerable groups of the population.
Recommendations for the population
In connection with the dangerous situation, the SES and regional authorities have urged residents of the Kirovohrad region to observe strict safety measures. The main requirement is the sealing of residential premises: all windows and doors must be tightly closed to minimize the entry of smoky air inside. It is also recommended to limit staying outdoors as much as possible. If it is necessary to go outside, it is strongly recommended to use protective masks or respirators, and to conduct regular wet cleaning indoors to remove settling dust.
Contradictory data
An analysis of information regarding the scale of the fire has revealed significant discrepancies in the figures announced by different official sources. Representatives of the SES report that about 2.8 hectares of territory have been flooded with water, which indirectly indicates a significant volume of work and the area affected by the fire. At the same time, the head of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, Andriy Raikovych, clarified in his statement that the area of active smoldering currently amounts to only 0.5 hectares. This discrepancy in data (2.8 ha vs. 0.5 ha) requires further clarification: it is possible that the figures refer to the total area flooded with water versus the area of the actual burning focus, however, this distinction was not clearly specified in open sources.
