A fire broke out at around 1:45 a.m. in an end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling centre undergoing administrative formalities. A local resident alerted the facility operator. The fire, which had engulfed roughly 50 end-of-life vehicles located within an area of 300 m², threatened to spread to an oxygen cylinder storage area and an administrative building. The stream below the site and the wastewater treatment plant were at risk of being polluted. Firefighters were able to contain the extinguishing water, and the fire was put out at around 11:00 a.m. The storage area of ELVs pending depollution and some dismantled engines were destroyed in the fire. Some of the extinguishing water made its way into the stormwater drainage ditch outside the site.

This fire, which had been started in the middle of the night, was the result of a malicious act. CCTV cameras recorded incendiary objects being thrown over the fence. The site had been the subject of recurring complaints from the neighbourhood (noise pollution and an eyesore), in the past.

The inspection authorities for classified facilities noted that several regulatory requirements were not respected. The ongoing regularisation procedure did not exempt the operator from its obligations. In particular, these included requirements for road construction, ground sealing, fencing and access controls, collection of runoff water and the storage conditions for depolluted tyres and vehicles. A formal prefectoral notice was issued.

Following the accident, the operator took several measures:

• construction of a property wall;
• construction of a low peripheral wall and a speed bump at the gate to maintain fire extinguishing water on site;
• installation of a guillotine gate valve on the rainwater drainage pipe;
• clearing of a roadway within the site that is readily accessible to emergency equipment.