Upon his arrival around 8:30 am, the head of a farm cooperative noted fire breaking out on a 1-m pile of bran that had formed at the end of a conveyor belt running over the upper part of a 14,680-m³ corn and barley silo. He reacted with a powder extinguisher; incandescent particles spread into 2 storage cells yet without igniting. He then alerted the fire department, which arrived at 8:43 and extinguished the flames. Fearing the presence of residual hot spots and a potential explosion, first responders set up a 300-m safety perimeter around the facility; 200 individuals were evacuated and traffic restrictions put into place on both departmental roads adjacent to the site. A few hot spots were actually identified in the 2 cells using an electronic thermometer; fire-fighters extinguished them without delay. During a briefing held with the operator, it was determined that any explosion risk could be dismissed. The safety perimeter was lifted at the beginning of the afternoon following a survey with a thermal camera. The operator proceeded to isolate the 250 tonnes of corn into bushels. Another site survey conducted early in the evening revealed no anomalies, and fire-fighters left the site at 8:30 pm.

The accident caused no injuries or property damage. During these events, the silo had been shut down and its upper part was being constantly ventilated.

Maintenance work carried out the day before on the forklift caused this incident (involving use of a grinder). Inspectors recorded the basic facts and cited in particular: delayed notifications, execution of works without cleaning beforehand and without a hot work permit, absence of a dust indicator or map of the site’s safety zones, and the lack of safety training for either the silo operations manager or maintenance manager. An injunction order was proposed to the Prefect.