At 11 pm in a wood panel manufacturing plant, a technician, after being alerted by a boiler alarm, noted the presence of flames on the hydraulic units and on the conveyor belt supplying the boiler with fibres, sawdust and wood bark from 2 silos. The public fire-fighters, who arrived at the scene at 11:30 pm and the internal emergency response team controlled the fire. The fire damaged the conveyor belt, the hydraulic units (melted electric cables, plastic and cracked hoses but the oil had not ignited). Due to the heat, the sheet metal and reinforcements of the unit’s roof and the walls separating the units and the conveyor were also deformed.

According to the manufacturer, the overheating of a roller supporting the conveyor’s return belt could have caused the fire which spread more easily due to the presence of wood waste. There had previously been a fire in the unit in May 2002 (ARIA 22465), and the operator is implementing the following measures: better cleaning of the area, preventive replacement of the 5 rollers on the conveyor and improvement of the fire detection and protection systems of the installation’s conveyor belt and hydraulic units (sprinkler system and alarms controlled with similar heat sensors, electrically and manually operated control valves).