Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

Fire broke out in an open depot containing 10 million tyres (200,000 m³) over a 5-ha zone, which was divided into 5 storage areas with a 4-m average height (max: 7 m). The blaze began in a corner of the depot and within 8 hours had engulfed the entire space. During the first 7 days after onset, intervention was limited to sprinkling tyres (286 m³/day) stored at the periphery using 9 tanker lorries from a source 7 km away and building access roads facilitated by the site layout (flat) and frozen ground. As a next step, vehicles were requisitioned to remove the stacks of tyres once the fire had burned out. The use of foam (a water/0.3% foaming agent mix) proved more efficient than water alone yet remained insufficient to extinguish the flames more than momentarily. A fire-fighting plane was also requisitioned yet had to be grounded after just 2 days of flying due to the negative temperatures. On the ground, progress was slow: fire-fighters wearing self-breathing apparatuses walked through mud. The metal residue of tyres prevented access by site vehicles operating at night, for fear of being caught in the inferno. With a rate of progress of 0.5 ha/day, extinction efforts were deployed for 16 days while the depot was nearly entirely destroyed. During the fire, a majority of pollutants due to tyre combustion escaped into the atmosphere. A portion of the oil generated by pyrolysis burned, but a significant quantity was still found in the extinction water or else infiltrated into the soil. Some 700,000 litres of oil and twice that amount in contaminated water were collected. The contaminants (benzene, toluene, etc.) reached the watercourse, as oil-laden water most likely penetrated into the clayey soil, making its way to slits in the limestone base layer. This incident produced 20,000 m³ of solid waste, and the parcel was contaminated over 4.5 ha by 12 to 50 m³ of liquid residue floating on top of the water table. For 3 months, 25 people had their drinking water supply suspended. During the 17 days the fire was raging, a total of 1,700 individuals were evacuated over a 4-km radius. The cost associated with pollution clean-up was estimated at 25 million CAD, while the emergency response cost 500,000 dollars. The criminal intent behind this blaze was quickly concluded: a teen and 3 accomplices were arrested. Following this fire, a procedure to authorise public hearings was adopted by the Canadian administration; specified in this legislation were: minimum 150-m distance for watercourses, extraction points and ecologically sensitive zones; 35-m separation for transport infrastructure; 2 access points for vehicles weighing up to 20 tonnes; storage in distinct sectors of less than 900 m² (max. height: 4 m) separated by roads at least 15 m wide; a fence enclosing the entire site; a drainage system and retention capacity sufficient to contain fire water; portable extinguishers both onsite and in vehicles; a sand stockpile of at least 300 m³; and a financial guarantee equal to $2 per tyre (max: $100,000). The authorities made plans to gradually eliminate these depot facilities.

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