Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

At around 2 pm, a fire ignited a 2,500 m² warehouse storing 10,000 m³ of paper bales in a railway and maritime transport company located in an urban area. Paper ashes were spread over the district. Half of the damaged building collapsed. Despite the wind, 70 fire-fighters prevented the flames from spreading to the offices, two other warehouses and houses. They had to clear part of the smouldering rubble equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). As paper packaged into very compact packets was the focus of slow and persistent combustion, the site was monitored for several hours to prevent the fire from restarting. Smoke incapacitated an employee and a first aider, while a second fire-fighter injured his knee during the intervention. A malicious act was strongly suspected.