At 15h40, an operator loads a bucket containing used lithium batteries in the rotating furnace of an incinerating plant for hazardous waste when an heavy smoke and flames appear above the bucket. He grabs a powder fire extinguisher but can not extinguish it. He alerts his superviser who triggers the emergency plan at 15h50. The rescue team of the plant fight the fire at 15:55 and firefighters arrive on site at 16:30,with 20 firefighters and 2 high power firetrucks, after being alerted at 16h. The fire is completely extinguished at 16h55. A stock of dry chemical, specific for extinguishing lithium fire, is sent from the nearby city of LYON to be spread over the affected area at 18h. Firefighters left the plant at 19:30 after cleaning the area. The operator informs the environmental authorities and its neighbors at around 16h45.

As the incinerating furnace is not damaged, the operator plans to eliminate the remaining stock of lithium batteries at a slow pace under the protection of the lithium extinguishing powder. According to the local environmental authority a reaction between lithium batteries and other dangerous waste might be responsible for the fire. The 1,820 tons of used batteries arrived on site at 8:20 in the morning. The incineration was scheduled at 8:45 but , as the furnace was not available, incineration was postponed to the next shift in the afternoon.