In Quimperlé, a fire shuts down the Bigard factory this Thursday morning [Vidéo]

A fire broke out this Thursday, September 19, 2024, before 6:30 a.m., in the Bigard factory, in Quimperlé. A large deployment of firefighters from Finistère is on site. Three people inhaled smoke and were transported to the Quimperlé hospital center.

All employees present on the site have been evacuated. The employees are outside, some for three hours. Others are waiting to be able to return. The activity has been at a standstill for several hours. Around 9:30 a.m., the fire was brought under control, but the firefighters were carrying out final checks and a large part of the factory was still inaccessible. At noon, there were still many firefighters on site.

Five hours of waiting for employees

At around 10:30 a.m., employees were informed that they would be able to return, in small groups, to the workshops for a quick tidy-up, then go home. Employees who were waiting near the gates to start their morning shift were not allowed to enter the company premises. They too were allowed to turn around.

At 11:30 a.m., there were still many workers outside, in Bigard’s yard, waiting. Water and madeleines were distributed to those who waited for nearly five hours and for many, in their work gear, namely their chainmail suits.

On the verges, along the factory, trucks were also waiting to deliver animals or fuel oil. Some had traveled hundreds of kilometers to reach Quimperlé. It was an entire economic microcosm that was brought to a standstill for the day.

Three fires in 2024

According to the gendarmerie, the fire started in a room containing boxes of meat. But the hypothesis that it started in a changing room was also put forward as a serious possibility on Thursday morning.

As a reminder, a first fire broke out last Sunday, September 15, in a cold storage warehouse of the same company, without causing any casualties. Criminal identification technicians were present in the morning, to ensure that there is no link between the two fires. This is the third fire since the beginning of 2024: on February 29, firefighters also intervened in the factory.