Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

At around 4:25 p.m., a fire broke out in a full landfill cell measuring 7000 m² in size and 20 m deep while a hot-air welder was being used to weld together two roof sheets. The flames spread along the walls in the north-eastern corner of another cell that was beginning to be filled. One of the employees fetched a fire extinguisher from his vehicle. The site operations manager alerted the firefighters. At the same time, the automatic monitoring system went off. The site’s teams began extinguishing the flames using a pump set and hoses supplied with 800 m³ of water from the nearby fire-protection pond. The firefighters arrived at around 5:00 p.m. and immediately doused the burning waste with foam. The fire was extinguished at 9:30 p.m. However, due to the weather conditions, the firefighters remained at the site until 2:00 p.m on 28 October.

The operator took the following measures:

  • the hot, burnt waste was cooled and then covered with soil for three days;
  • the burnt area was sprayed and compacted for three days;
  • the firewater was pumped and transferred to the site’s leachate network;
  • the site was guarded for one week to prevent all intrusions and the start of other fires;
  • the day after the fire, a meeting was held with local residents at the civic amenity site open to the public;
  • the 500 m³ of burnt waste was transferred to another cell;
  • the damaged roof sheets were replaced;
  • the new weld seams were inspected by a specialist firm;
  • an assessment was conducted to determine the cause of the fire (the contractor who did the welding failed to do his work properly or check the equipment being used);
  • the wall separating the two bunkers was rebuilt;
  • the level of the fire-protection pond used during the fire was adjusted (600 m³ minimum);
  • the prevention plan was reinforced, particularly by placing fire extinguishers near the cells.

The specialist firm’s inspection report found that the new weld seams were compliant and that the fire-damaged area had been properly repaired. The inspection authorities for classified facilities asked the operator to replenish the stockpile of soil near the cells (300 m³ minimum) in addition to readjusting the level of the fire-protection pond.