At around 4:30○p.m., 1500○m³ of paper bales intended for recycling caught fire at a paper mill subject to authorisation. The bales were located in a 200○m² storage area. The operator initiated the internal emergency plan and had the mill evacuated. Firefighters and the mill’s employees used water from the municipal water network to prevent the fire spreading. After the wastepaper was spread out and the stockpile was left to burn (the town hall allocated a temporary area to let the remaining bales burn), the fire was brought under control at around 6:00○p.m.

Contractors disposed of the wastepaper and cleared the facilities. The mill’s 155 employees were furloughed for 24○hours. The material damage (400○t of wastepaper) was estimated at between €50,000 and €70,000, not counting the lost operating day. The cost of transporting and treating the waste amounted to €70,000. As for the accident’s environmental impact, the firewater was discharged to the River Vienne. The inspection authorities for classified facilities asked that the river be tested for pollution.

Since the event, the operator has taken the following corrective actions:

• trees and vegetation along the site’s edges have been cut;
• the ground at the storage area has been demarcated;
• no-smoking signs and signs prohibiting access to the mill’s storage areas have been posted;
• the storage area is now patrolled and the patrol logbook is signed by the security officers.
• a specialist provided advice on surveillance techniques to be used in addition to patrols;
• stockpiles are now split.