A fire broke out at 11:30 pm on 3 conveyor belts outside 2 grain silos with a total capacity of 49,600 t, when the installations were shut down. The fire spread to a 1,000 l tank of organophosphate (pyrimiphosmethyl) insecticide. The internal emergency plan was activated and the establishment was secured. Fire-fighters controlled the fire on the belts within 3 hours using water hoses and extinguished the fire in the tank using powder.

A failure of a roller bearing on the snub roller of one of the conveyors was the most likely cause of the accident. The electrical connections of the silos were damaged and the three belts were destroyed along with the tank. Material damage was assessed at €400,000.

The post-accident assessment revealed that 2 of the belts were compliant with the standard NF EN 20 340 of June 1993 (flame-retardant belts), however, the third could not be tested due to its damaged state following the fire. The inspection authorities recommended that the Prefect issue an order imposing: the performance of electrical inspections by a qualified organisation bringing the installations back into operation and maintaining a minimum distance between the insecticide storage tank and the conveyors or any combustible product.

The operator is planning to replace 2 of the conveyor belts with chain conveyors and reduce the length of the third one so that it no longer enters the handling towers. The operator also had to update its hazard analysis and propose additional barriers to reduce the probability of a fire spreading bearing in mind that it could now only be considered that compliance of the belts with the standard NF EN 20 340 would eliminate this risk.