Fire at a non-hazardous waste storage centre was discovered by fire-fighters around 12:45 pm when they were alerted for a “fire in the Corbières hills”. The blaze was not detected by the company responsible for site supervision. Operating personnel and a subcontractor, called as part of the company’s on-call protocol, were unable to contain the outbreak, as the “wind shelter” was already in flames by the time they arrived at 1:30 pm. The chance of ignition spreading to the wastes, as well as to the small mountains beyond the site, prompted response. Fire-fighters battled the fire with water; flames were controlled by 7:30 pm, and the incident was eventually limited to the “wind shelter”. Given the effect of mild wind conditions, smoke from the blaze drifted towards a zone that fortunately had not been developed.

The netting set up in the “wind shelter”, intended to prevent against flying waste due to strong gusts, was destroyed and the adjacent devices for re-injecting leachate and collecting biogas from the bioreactor were damaged. The deterioration of both active and passive barriers (especially a “GSB” composite geosynthetic liner to compensate for the lack of clay) was feared.

The operator surmised that the fire had started in the wastes delivered over the 2 previous days. No high-risk loading had been scheduled, yet the operator expressed reservations regarding cumbersome loadings unsuitable for recycling at coastal dumpsites (distress rockets? hot waste?), as fires had already been sparked by these products. The covering of lightweight wastes (notably pieces of exposed plastic) on the sides of the shelter container favoured fire spreading throughout the contents. In response, the operator:

• conducted a thermographic inspection to ensure the absence of any smouldering fire;
• increased the frequency of rounds by the supervisory company during business closing hours;
• rebuilt a wind shelter according to an improved design (featuring 1-m earthen sides) and, while awaiting final construction, raised the frequency of waste cover in order to prevent airborne waste;
• restore biogas treatment resources (shut down during the fire to avoid air intake and fire spreading) to offset odours;
• improved, in collaboration with the local fire services, the site intervention plan and scheduled a drill.

The solution offered to equip operating personnel with infrared detection gear in order to verify the absence of hotspots at the end of the day was rejected due to difficulties in interpreting the photos produced by this device, as well as to its vulnerability and sensitivity to foul weather.