At around 7 p.m., a driver who had come to unload waste in a sorting centre reported smoke coming from a wood waste grinder. No flames were visible. He alerted a manager who, upon arriving at the site, decided to call the fire brigade. While waiting for the fire brigade to arrive, the personnel opened the grinder and used two 2 kg CO2 fire extinguishers to put out the fire. The grinder’s fuel supply was damaged. Two litres of diesel fuel spilt from a melted fuel line onto the sealed floor. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and then left the site at 9 p.m. The water used to extinguish the fire was collected in the site’s composting lagoon.

The grinder was shut down for four days to undergo repairs.

Cleaned with compressed air before use, the grinder grinds wood waste (pallets/crates) for 1.5 hours to produce pellets that can be used in biomass boilers. It was stopped at 4:30 p.m., at the end of the shift. The accident resulted from dust accumulation in the grinder (8 to 10 cm of fine dust that had dried on the engine compartment). This accumulation was attributed to incomplete cleaning due to the difficulty in accessing the engine area.

The operator adopted a directive requiring systematic inspection of dust accumulation in this area at the end of the shift. A tool was also developed to improve the accessibility of blowing and cleaning efficiency. In the event of extensive dust accumulation, water shall be used to clean the area. Procedures for cleaning other site equipment were also reviewed.