A column of white smoke and after a while an orange flame tens of meters high, with a shower of burning debris beginning to fall to the ground while a roar shakes the air around the former Simmel Difesa plant in Colleferro, near Rome. These are the images filmed by those living near the plant and shared on the web, telling of the fire followed by an explosion that occurred in the early afternoon at the facility owned by ’Knds Ammo Italy’. The company produces medium and large caliber ammunition for land and naval defense as well as solid fuels for aerospace vehicles. The incident occurred in the ’Powder Pressing’ department and according to initial testimonies it started from a press that exploded during processing. But certainty will only be possible once all the fires are extinguished and the on-duty prosecutor and the Fire Brigade can enter for inspection and surveys.
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Investigators rule out acts of sabotage of a subversive nature and the Velletri prosecutor’s office is proceeding for the crime of arson. Knds, the owner of the plant, also states that “the circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation and evaluation by the teams present on site” and that it is not now able to provide “confirmed details regarding the cause or the exact sequence of events.” The explosion reportedly occurred while the plant was in full operation. The flames triggered the fire suppression system which allowed the 24 employees on duty at the time to be saved before the blast.
It was not the same in October 2007, when an explosion at the same plant, then Simmel Difesa, caused one death and 13 injuries. Today’s fire affected only one area of the plant, pulverizing the roof which acted as a relief valve directing the energy produced by the blast upwards.
Firefighters, Carabinieri, emergency medical services (118) and Civil Protection are at work: the emergency area is confined to the department affected by the fire, outside the situation is under control to the point that Mayor Giulio Calamita has not activated the Coc, the emergency management structure. The nearby outlet was not evacuated nor was it necessary to activate procedures for citizen assistance, although the regional Civil Protection councilor Pasquale Ciacciarelli informed the mayor that he is ready if needed.
“At this time the priority is to ensure the safety of people and allow all operators to intervene under the best conditions,” said the President of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca. The Italian branch of Knds Ammo Italy is one of the top 15 national companies for ammunition export and in 2025 obtained about 42 million euros in new export authorizations to Europe, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. There is a project to expand production also at the nearby Anagni site which so far has been used for artillery shell disarming operations. In 2025 a plan was presented to the Municipality for the production of “nitrogelatin,” the base component for explosives and ammunition.
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