Fire broke out in a facility that crushes and strips rebar (both in bulk and from scrap vehicles); 120 of the 12,000 t of vehicles in storage were affected by the accident, amounting to nearly 12 t of combustibles (primarily tyres and plastics). Fire-fighters controlled the blaze after a 1-hour fight using two 2000-litre/min water canons, another cannon spraying 1000 l/min and 2 hoses. Intensive sprinkling of the equipment at the source continued for over 3 hours. An electrical malfunction on the private fire protection network pump forced fire-fighters to set up their pumping vehicles on the banks of the RHONE River Canal 200 m away.
The combustion of these materials mainly gave rise to atmospheric pollution. No water pollution was recorded, as the 1400-m3 retention basins recovered all of the extinction water; a preventive floating boom was installed at the facility’s collector outlet.
The Inspection Authorities visited the site the following day. The fire was likely related to the presence of hydrocarbon residue in vehicles being stored, as their clean-up had undoubtedly not been appropriately verified. However, the main malfunction observed still pertained to a lack of proper understanding of the site’s first response operating protocols by personnel on call. Yet a fire drill with emergency services had been held just 3 days prior. Both staff training and more formalised notification/first response procedures were strengthened. The facility operator installed a preventive sprinkling system specifically for the stockpiles of rebar during hot periods. The decision to limit the height of vehicle piles was also made, in addition to separating stockpiles by means of fire lanes.
