At around 1:00 p.m., a leak occurred on a diesel engine used to power a pump supplying the fire protection system at an old, licenced wine storeroom. The 50-l diesel spill, which measured 20 m by 1.5 km, contaminated the ground and the River Charente. The leak was stopped by an employee at around 2:00 p.m. Firefighters installed a containment boom and spread absorbent material over the spill. A specialist company pumped up the diesel and collected the waste the next day. The fire protection system was shut down for 12 days.

The pump set had been started automatically to offset the loss of pressure in the sprinkler system during a maintenance operation. The seals on one of the two diesel filter bowls was the wrong diameter, which led to the leak. An employee closed the tank isolation valve, but it was defective. Fuel flowed into the pump set’s secondary containment, which was not completely sealed. Lastly, a transmission fault prevented the alarm on the pump set from being received. This meant that system operated for 1.5 hours without any supervision.

To prevent the same type of accident recurring, the operator:

• replaced the defective equipment (isolation valves on the diesel tanks and isolation valve on the water works) ;
• checked the alarm relaying system and trained a crew to conduct weekly alarm-relaying checks;
• sealed the secondary containment with resin;
• drew up an annual maintenance plan for the tank valves and the 15-year-old secondary containment.