At around 10:45 a.m., a fire broke out in an air extractor of a company specialising in the manufacture of bodywork and trailers during restoration work in a production area. An operator noticed incandescent dust falling from the air extractor. A failure of the extraction motor was suspected, and the maintenance department was alerted. An agent switched off power to the motor, causing the air extractor valves to close. He inspected the inside of the extractor, cleared away the hot dust particles and manually opened the extractor valves. However, he was unable to access the glowing dust on the other side of the valves. The firefighters were able to gain access to the extractor through the roof. They arrived at 1 p.m. and dismantled the extractor motor at 2.30 p.m. The motor blades had melted. The upper part of the cable glands at the inlet to the power supply box was charred.

It was determined that the accident had been caused by renovation work. During finishing operations on a rack intended for semi-finished elements, a grinding process had thrown sparks into the air extractor located just 15 m above the work area. The sparks ignited the dust that had accumulated in the air extractor. The risk analysis performed by the operator was insufficient. The subcontractor carrying out the operation was not aware of the presence of the extractor. The fire started in the motor’s ventilation system before spreading.

Following the accident, the operator reinforced staff training and redefined the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved. The fire permit rules for the workshop were also reviewed.