A huge fire set alight a 3,000 m² sawmill at around 1:30 am and spread to a 200 m² adjacent house. The emergency services encountered a number of difficulties: risk of the building collapsing and a gas bottle exploding, toxicity of the fumes (presence of xylophene), and a lack of fire hydrants. Supported by significant reinforcements (60 men), fire-fighters used water from the River EMINE and managed to contain the fire after 3 hours of intervention. The business, the vehicles contained within and the house were destroyed. The owner of the sawmill received severe burns to his head and part of his upper body, while the 2 young occupants of the house received minor injuries (burns, bruises and smoke inhalation). Five people had to be rehoused and 10 workers were temporarily laid off. A power line was cut off depriving around ten homes of electricity for an undetermined period. The spillage of 500 l of xylophene and the fire extinguishing water polluted the River SEMINE and the village’s drinking water pumping station, but a fish farm located downstream of the site was not affected.