In a façade coating plant, a fire broke out at around 4.15 pm in an outside finished products and plastic packaging storage facility. The team leader, who had finished loading a truck, noticed that 2 empty containers that had contained demineralised water were on fire. During the time taken to raise the alarm and find 2 water fire extinguishers, the fire had already spread to a stockpile of pallets. Faced with the growing magnitude of the fire, the operator alerted firefighters, got the truck in to prevent the tank from exploding and closed the communication gate between the storage area and the finished products room. The fire started to spread in the building fanned by the wind which was also responsible for the speed at which the goods caught fire. Gas, electricity and telephone utilities were cut off on the site and the 15 employees were gathered outside of the building. Firefighters contained the fire within 20 min and left at around 10 pm after making sure that there was no risk of the fire restarting: 20 t polyethylene plastic packages, 20 t of other polypropylene packages and 200 t of finishing coating had burned. The latter, which were highly viscous, did not spill into the natural environment, but remained in molten state on the establishment’s sealed areas.

These coatings were obtained by mixing CaCO3 powder, water, thickeners and various additives, such as, polymers, biocides, anti-rust, anti-foam additives, etc. The cause of the fire may have been a cigarette that had not been put out properly and had been inadvertently thrown into the middle of the finished products storage area, even though the internal rules prohibited smoking in the establishment. The operator considered organising an outside smoking area. Investigations were continued to determine the exact cause of the fire. The site was secured, and the operator studied the removal of the damaged products and cleaning of the outside storage area. The cost of these operations was estimated at 200,000 euros, and material damage including the destruction of the finished products and replacement of the building’s entrance gate was assessed as 130,000 euros. Production resumed at the beginning of the following week.