A fire broke out at around 2:45 a.m. in a 1,500 m² hangar on a disused sugar factory, followed by a second fire in an outdoor storage area containing 2,800 m³ of tires (on 2,000 m²). Local residents saw the flames and called for help.
The 157 firefighters involved were able to contain the fire at around noon. Additional water reinforcements were required to finally put out the flames after fighting the fire for 36 hours. Specialised equipment was used to apply foam and spread sand to smother the flames on the stock of tyres outside the building. Six 44-tonne trucks had to make 6 rotations each in order to cover the tyres with a 30 cm layer of sand, (more than 1,500 m³ of sand). The damaged structure was unstable, making it difficult to extinguish residual fires.
A plume of white smoke moved in a southerly direction, not affecting the urban areas. Operation of the nearby railway line was disrupted, although the houses nearby, located just 75 m away, were are not threatened.
Even though the fire was considered extinguished the next morning, small fires remained in the area. Seven firefighters remained on site throughout the evening of 15/08 to ensure the fire remained extinguished. The emergency services left the premises definitively on 18/08 at 8:30 a.m., but a fire started up again inside the building on 19/08. Smoke from the pile of tyres continued until 31/08. After the fire, large quantities of burnt tyre waste covered with sand remained at the site, and wisps of smoke could still be seen escaping from it for several months after the accident. Another used tyre depot and wood stored outside the buildings did not burn. Stocks of highly flammable sulphur cores were also present in one of the buildings.
The police do not exclude any hypothesis and seem to lean more toward a voluntary act in this wasteland where graffiti and break-ins are commonplace.
The Inspection authorities for classified facilities visited the premises and asked the operator, who purchased the site 2 months earlier, to secure it. To prevent a renewed outbreak of fire, tyre waste and stored wood must be managed in islands mono-ammonium phosphate place a sufficient distance from each other and at least 10 m from buildings. Sulphur cores and burnt liquid or solid residues will be disposed of in approved facilities. The operator was required to conduct investigations to determine where the extinguishing water was discharged and provide, within 1 month, an impact study of the accidental discharge of water into the environment and, within 6 months, a soil and groundwater pollution study, determining the necessary measures to be undertaken. A proposed emergency measures order was submitted to the prefect.
