At 11:30 a.m., an acetylene cylinder of a welding machine used in a custom work van by a contractor caught fire at a steel mill. The fire spread to the inside of the work van and the gas cylinders in it. The operator implemented the internal emergency plan at 11:40 p.m. A cordon was set up. Firefighters put the fire out at around 12:40 p.m. The acetylene cylinders were immersed in water to cool them down. An outside company took away a second intact cylinder of gas. The firewater was collected in a lined retention pond.

The fire was caused by a leak on a cylinder. Because the contractor was going to be present for several days, a hot-work permit had been drawn up the previous day, but not on the day of the accident. This hot-work permit was not fully completed and the measures recommended in the prevention plan were not followed. Cylinders were to be placed on a flatbed lorry, not in the van. The inspection authorities found deficiencies in the operator’s monitoring of the jobsite. They also told the operator to be more vigilant when informing contractors about safety on the site. Indeed, the contractor did not think to use the fixed alarm points.

The operator revised the mill’s safety management system, particularly the section on managing contractors, and now has a policy of preferring contractors certified as implementing HSE management systems.