At around 6.30 am, a fire destroyed 400 m² of an electrolytic treatment workshop for metals, which was shut down for the annual holidays. A neighbour alerted the emergency services who deployed significant human resources (95 fire-fighters) and equipment (18 vehicles) to control the fire. Traffic in the street was halted during the intervention.

The inspection authorities were only informed of the fire 2 days later. A site inspection took place in the presence of a police officer in charge of the legal investigation and a lawyer representing the operator who could not be contacted. The tanks of the brass-plating/nickel-plating and zinc-plating lines were damaged and those of the gold-plating line had disappeared. The roof above these installations had collapsed and the stormwater downpipes were damaged, causing risks of rainwater entering the workshop and the tanks.

The accident was due to the power supply to the installations being left on after the establishment had been closed. The inspection authorities requested that the tanks be prevented from overflowing by any means.

One week after the accident during another site inspection, in the presence of the operator, the inspection authorities observed: sheeting of the roof, power to the affected area had been turned off and the presence of empty containers to remove liquid waste. The inspection authorities recommended an emergency order requiring: securing of the site, identification followed by the disposal of the waste and fire extinguishing water at authorised facilities, and making the restarting of the damaged units subject to an inspection confirming that all of the equipment is in correct working order.