Fire broke out in a warehouse containing paraffin and parts for car upholstery. The night watchman noticed flames at 1:30; he immediately alerted the fire department and then the facility’s management. First responders on the scene used 3 fire hydrants hooked up to the company’s water network to supply 4 large hoses. The fire had ignited in a storage area for wood pallets placed under the building awning and then spread inside, in destroying the inventory of polyurethane foam vehicle upholstery. A thick smoke engulfed the 1200 m² of storage space, delimited to the north by a fire wall and to the west by a protective screen. The blaze also spread to the other side of the fire wall, where 600 m² of paraffin storage were located. Given the risk of a full-scale outbreak, fire-fighters opened a door to make it possible to attack the fire from the rear. The translucent plates placed on the roof melted and some were used as a smoke outlet, but the extreme temperature caused the metal structure to collapse (deformed columns, destroyed frame). Half the building (9,000 m²) was filled with smoke. The fire was brought under control around 4:30 am, and the response was eased as of 10:50 that morning, with monitoring remaining in place until 7 pm. The most plausible hypothesis was malicious intent, as the watchman did observe around 10 pm an opening in the fence surrounding the site.

The fire destroyed 1800 m² of storage, including 400 tonnes of paraffin layers. Damage was estimated at €1 million for the building and €200,000 to €300,000 for the storage space. The extinction water polluted the TANCARVILLE Canal. Analyses revealed that the lack of outlets contributed to the massive deformation of the metal structure, while the presence of protective screens prevented a more serious accident, as did the set of fire protection measures. The flock-coated metal columns were only slightly deformed, thereby preventing building collapse. It was thus recommended during the reconstruction process to install smoke outlets on the roof, in addition to protecting the metal load-bearing structural components and assigning forklift storage outside the high-risk zones. A fire water recovery basin also had to be built, and it was recommended to install automatic extinction and fire detection systems.