A series of 4 explosions followed by a violent fire occurred at 2:45 pm inside a pyrotechnics plant. The 70-year-old owner, his 2 sons managing the plant and 3 employees were killed. Flames ravaged 2 of the site’s 3 buildings, then spread to the neighbouring forest and threatened a few nearby dwellings, which had to be evacuated. First responders set up a safety perimeter. Due to the considerable explosion risks, fire-fighters, who had been dispatched from several stations, battled the blaze remotely; 2 helicopters, 5 ambulances and 2 medical service vehicles removed the victims. The locality’s mayor visited the site. The prosecutor and environmental police undertook an investigation. The initial explosion took place during the manual production of fireworks (an error was committed during the mixing of powder? or static electricity to blame?). The plant had been laid out with separate work zones (workshop / laboratory / press, etc.) and featured ATEX-certified equipment for explosive atmospheres, along with a monitoring system and sufficient water resources to battle fires.