At around 11:50 p.m., a fire started in the building used to store raw green waste at a green-waste composting facility. The building’s timber frame collapsed at around 6:00 a.m. The fire was detected by the facility’s workers at around 7:15 a.m. The firefighters were alerted, but the workers managed to extinguish the blaze with a vacuum tanker outfitted with a high-pressure hose before they arrived. The company cut off the electricity to the facility. The retention ponds were closed off to isolate the firewater.

A total of 85 m³ of firewater was treated on site and 150 t of burnt green waste was composted. The fire caused €70,000 in material damage. A carpenter tore down and took away what was left of the building’s roof. The building was rebuilt exactly as it was before the fire.

Footage from the CCTV camera showed that the fire started during the night. According to the operator, the fire was caused by unexpected fermentation of the raw green waste. Initially anaerobic, this fermentation became aerobic when oxygen was added while waste was being removed with an industrial truck. It triggered an exothermic reaction. The very dry weather was an aggravating factor.

The operator has since changed how green waste is managed. The receiving silo now must be empty whenever fresh waste is delivered so that it spends as little time as possible sitting in one place. Any waste remaining at the bottom of the receiving silo when new waste is delivered must be transferred to another silo to avoid it sitting in the same place for too long.