In a waste storage facility, a fire broke out in an inert waste bin containing bulky items, tires and plastics at about 3:10 p.m. A thick black cloud was emitted for 2 hours. The plant’s internal contingency plan was initiated, and a security perimeter was established. The emergency services sprayed down the storage cell. Employees covered the soil waste using machinery, and the fire was put out at 8:45 p.m. Enhanced surveillance (doubling of the on-call team) was set up over the following weekend.

Marine distress flares caused the fire. The flares were triggered after being run over by machinery when new waste was deposited. The fire then spread to plastic and rubbery materials. The flares were mixed in with bulky items delivered by a truck from a transfer centre. Due to the lack of a specialised processing service for this type of flare, they are regularly found in the waste of this facility, which is located in a port area.

The site had already experienced a fire of the same origin in July 2012.

In order to avoid this type of fire, the facility operator:

• systematically removes tyres from the inert waste in order to reduce the risk of spreading in the event of a fire,
• increased its stock of available soil in order to smother an outbreak of fire more quickly,
• ensures that an agent is systematically present when waste is placed in a cell, and
• requested that the authorities develop a specific processing service for distress flares.