Fire broke out around 4:30 pm at an electronic waste treatment centre. The blaze quickly spread to the 5,500-m² building housing 4 other firms (a confectionery wholesaler, a caterer, a dance hall and the woodworking activity associated with a hardware retailer), 3 of which welcomed retail customers on their premises.

Given the magnitude of this event, the nearby companies were evacuated; a 100-m safety perimeter was set up. A large plume of black smoke was visible several km away. Major resources were deployed by the emergency team; 40 response vehicles and over 110 fire-fighters battled the flames. Fire hydrants in the vicinity of the site were used to supply water to the extinction equipment, in addition to a portion of the fire water reserve operated jointly by the firms. The fire was contained by 7:30 pm and extinguished 2 hours later.

The buildings were destroyed; 2 slight injuries (1 employee and 1 fire-fighter) were reported. All 5 firms had to relocate their businesses.

The fire broke out in a former cold storage room, without electricity, used to store the electronic waste (TVs on pallets). It quickly spread to adjoining rooms, due in particular to an absence of fire-resistant partition walls. A legal investigation concluded that the accident was a criminal act. A suspect, employed by the waste recovery association in conflict with management, was arrested and indicted for arson.

The classified facilities inspectorate observed that the surface area dedicated to electronic waste exceeded the 1,800 m² authorized, in addition to the lack of an extinction water retention system. A Prefectural order dated 17th September, 2009 stipulated:

• installation risk avoidance (monitoring, access restrictions, etc.);
• plugging of pipes between the plant and the Reims metropolitan sewer network;
• submission of an action plan for eliminating the wastes present onsite;
• measurements of dioxin/furan pollution in soils where the smoke had fallen, with the potential for additional sampling;
• removal and disposal of hazardous products and all wastes present onsite;
• diagnosis of soil and groundwater pollution at the site location, intended to determine the impact of this fire on the environment.