A fire and explosion occurred around 3 am in the raw materials storage workshop of a plant producing lubricants that had been shut down for the weekend. Notified by neighbours, a crew of some 50 fire-fighters was deployed. The overlapping structure of the building complicated the response. Thermal radiation had caused the explosion of a 100-m³ tank loaded with 13 tonnes of mineral oil. Several leaks on other storage facilities were also observed.

Ultimately, the response unit extinguished the fire using foam after a full 7-hour battle. The storage building was partially destroyed and production halted for 1 week, yet without requiring any redundancies. A specialised firm was hired to dispose the extinction water collected in the workshop that served as a retention. Slightly burned on his face and hands, a fire-fighter was granted a 3-day medical leave.

The causes of this accident remained unknown. The operator was required to update the information on file regarding the ICPE (Installations Classified for Environmental Protection) regulation by, among other things, revising the site’s safety report.