On a Sunday afternoon in a non-hazardous waste storage centre, a fire broke out at around 1:10 p.m. in a storage cell that had been recently put into operation. An employee, who lived near the site, raised the alarm. The security guard, who was in the administrative offices at the time of the incident, had not yet detected the smoke. Employees then covered the waste with soil, and the fire brigade set up a watering system upon arriving at the site. The fire was contained at around 5 p.m., although the extinguishing operations continued until around 11 p.m. Reinforced rounds are conducted by the security guard throughout the night.

During the operation, an employee suffered from CO poisoning. A firefighter was evacuated to the hospital for heatstroke. The firefighting water, drawn from the rainwater basin, was confined in the storage cell. It was then pumped into the leachate basins. The facing membranes were damaged and had to be repaired. Investigations are carried out to verify the condition of the cell’s bottom membrane.

The fire had started on a Sunday, outside the site’s usual period of activity. The operator suspects that the fire was starting by a distress flare that had gotten mixed in with the waste in the storage cell. The dry weather and strong wind helped fuel the fire.

According to the operator, a poor knowledge of the site by firefighters and the specificities of waste fires in storage cells hindered proper organisation at the start of firefighting operations. The emergency intervention plans submitted to the fire brigade did not indicate the access roads or slopes. Following the accident, the operator planned to improve its cooperation with the emergency services. Notably, joint visits to the site will be organised on a regular basis.