Fire broke out at around 2 am in a used tyre storage facility (20,000 m³) externally over 6,600 m² (220 m x 30 m). The tyres were placed in several 2-m high piles. The surface area of the fire represented 1,500 m². The emergency services had to contain the fire to prevent other mounds from igniting in turn. The strategy adopted was to organise a corridor of nozzles between the stockpiles. The fire was contained at around 4.30 am using water and foam nozzles; however the emergency services had expected a long-term operation before completely extinguishing the fire. As the smoke was thick and foul-smelling, residents were advised to stay inside. Firefighters took air pollution measurements (sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, toluene and hydrocarbons) downwind and up to 3 km from the site. Maximum CO concentrations of 200 ppm were recorded at the pollution cloud drawdown point (value much lower than the IDLH threshold of 1,200 ppm). At the same time as the firefighting operations, the town’s technical services dug trenches with backhoe loaders to channel and collect the fire extinguishing water to prevent pollution of the LA MARE river via the site’s closest ditch. At around 3 pm, the provisions were eased. After one patrol at 11 pm and another on 01/04 at 3 am, a few fumeroles persisted. On 01/04 at 5 pm, the intervention had finished.
Criminal actions were largely suspected. The company that stored the used tyres had taken over the site from an initial company that was in receivership in August 2003. The order dated 01/08/2003 stipulated bringing the site into compliance with standards within a period of 3 months. This new company had formally notified the Public Prosecutor of the regulation of its situation, and an inspection by the inspection authorities for classified facilities in July 2004 noted the absence of site monitoring, the existence of aisles that were too narrow between the piles (less than the 10 m stipulated in the declaration file), absence of the operator’s own firefighting equipment, the presence of waste fibre cement panels placed in the middle of the stacks of tyres and the absence of fencing around the site.
In November 2005, the Public Prosecutor had organised a meeting between the representatives of the State’s departments, the landowner and the operator in order to set a deadline to dispose of the stock of tyres. This was set for 30/06/06.
Following this fire, the operator was asked to remove the tyre waste and secure the site in order to reduce the risk concerning the remaining stock that had not burned. The DRIRE recommended to the Prefect a formal notification then a payment to the court against the landowner.
