On a Sunday around 1 pm, fire broke out over 2,400 m² in the recycling unit of an incineration plant. Major resources were deployed to contain the blaze. Fire-fighters faced water supply shortfalls, and two of them suffered slight smoke intoxication. Equipment damage was extensive: 130 tonnes of cardboard, 25 tonnes of plastic waste, 4 tonnes of household packaging, and 700 tonnes of ordinary non-hazardous waste all burned. The building and various machinery were destroyed, including: a compactor, four 35-m³ cases, a press and its power supply system, and a mobile crusher. Given the absence of employees, the network shutoff valve had not been closed; moreover, its position in the ignited room had prevented responders from entering. The hatch on the oil trap had also remained open, allowing effluent to flow into the ditch running along the site’s southern boundary.

During its inspection 2 days later, the inspection authorities for classified facilities noted that the fire was under control, but fire-fighters were still cooling and extinguishing a few ignition sources that would rekindle when removing and handling the incendiary waste. Inspectors for classified facilities also observed the facts mentioned above (non-closure of both the network shutoff valve and oil trap hatch) and the lack of protocol adopted to confine extinction water. The inspection requested the operator to update the plant’s safety report, which among other things needed to revise its specifications of resources and operational measures for internal and external implementation by the operator; in addition, extinction water confinement required review. A number of measures had to be taken immediately: urgently plugging the network, pumping water held in the ditch, and analysing this water prior to disposal. The operator was also requested to submit an accident report that included hypotheses relative to the underlying cause, the quantities and types of wastes involved and the measures selected for their proper discharge. A subcontractor collected the extinction water over the next few days. The incendiary waste was assessed by an expert and then processed by various firms depending on their composition.