Nowaco warehouse fire north of Prague results in CZK 150 million in damage

Investigators are going through the remains of a food processing plant north of Prague that caught fire last week. The plant, which belongs to the Bidfood Czech Republic and produces goods under the Nowaco brand, suffered damages worth at least CZK 150 million. Dozens of firefighters fought the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control during the night. As a result of the fire, production in an adjacent meat plant belonging to the same group has also become impossible. The fire comes a month after another plant fire in which a mattress production unit was destroyed. Manufacturers across the country in multiple sectors are struggling to maintain full capacity thanks to a lack of available labor. Unemployment was already at record low levels when thousands of foreign workers fled the country during the first wave of the pandemic. Staffing has become increasingly difficult as Covid-19 has raced through the population.