At a plant manufacturing wood panels, fire broke out around 2 am on the top of a press. Alerted by the installation’s fire detection system, the shift-boss and onsite fire-fighters controlled the blaze by activating the extinction system inundating the press. The residual fire sources were all extinguished using an onsite protection system prior to arrival of the first public rescue services.Property damage, limited to the electrical cables, was estimated at €5,000 and the production losses at €36,000.

According to the operator, wood fibres and lubricating oil had accumulated in a collecting tank, where the combustible mix had dried and ignited; air suction then fanned the fire. Following this accident, the operator increased facility cleaning frequency and modified the collection tanks to facilitate their drainage.