Friday September 27, a fire broke out within the Galvanoplast company, in Lorscourt (Doubs). After a strong explosion around 9 p.m., the flames destroyed two thirds of the premises before being stopped the next day, around 4 a.m. Employees and residents were evacuated.
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More than 12 hours of intervention. 58 firefighters and 24 fire engines involved. Friday September 27, 2024, the Galvanoplast company, located in Lorscourt (Doubs) and specializing in the treatment of automobile and aeronautical parts by chemical processes, was ravaged by flames.
It was 9 p.m. when an explosion “very noisy” was heard at 87 rue de la Pâle. “I live on the other side of town” says a resident. “But I still heard a big boom. It was impressive“. And “big boom” which immediately transformed into immense flames, against which the firefighters fought all night, this Saturday, September 28.
Very quickly arriving on the scene given the violence of the fire, they first evacuated sixteen employees, present in the factory when the flames broke out. Then four fire hoses were used to fight the fire. “It was necessary at all costs to prevent the fire from reaching the administrative part of the company and, more importantly, the chemical storage area.” reveals Commander Anaël Bouchot, in charge of rescue operations.
All metal treatment chains with chemicals are destroyed. This represents around two thirds of the business, which covers 7,900 m2 in total. There is damage.
Commander Anaël Bouchot,firefighter in charge of rescue operations
The fear of the emergency services: that the fire would also spread to surrounding homes. Thus, eleven residents were evacuated in the evening. “There was also a fear that residents would be poisoned by toxic and chemical fumes.” tells us Françoise Paicheur, 1st deputy mayor of Lorscourt, present on the scene. “But we were lucky in our misfortune. It rained, which helped the firefighters“.
Many firefighters were present on site.
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© Nicolas Wilhelm – France Bleu Belfort-Montbéliard
A security perimeter was nevertheless established by the emergency services, with a closure of Rue de la Pale and Rue de l’Industrie in particular. The firefighters, for their part, managed to limit the damage: the flames spared the administrative part of the company and its chemical storage area, without affecting other homes.
Problem is, the intervention of the firefighters required the interruption of the electricity supply, leading to the shutdown of the wastewater treatment plant attached to the factory. “The retention tanks overflowed. We had water spills in the small stream next door, which flows a few hundred meters into the Doubs“, explained to AFP Saadia Tamelikecht, chief of staff of the prefect.
This morning we commissioned the OFB which will establish findings on the pollution of the river. The luck we had yesterday was that with the precipitation, the Doubs had risen to five times the flow it had in the morning
Saadia Tamelikecht,director of the prefect’s office
According to her, there would be a reduction in risk thanks to the dilution of pollutants. For Colonel Jean-Luc Potier, deputy departmental director of the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service of Doubs, the risk of air pollution has been avoided, thanks in particular to “favorable weather conditions“(lots of wind and rain).
Concerning the watercourses, “there were discharges, but the flow of the watercourses was very favorable, we can think that the products discharged, soda and acids, were diluted“, he said.
“The fire was contained around 4 a.m.“resumes Commander Bouchot.”And residents were able to return to their homes“. As we write these lines, only one engine and six firefighters remain on the scene, to prevent any further outbreak of flames.
One question remains: what caused the disaster? For the moment, precise findings have not yet been able to be made, given the current state of affairs. But for the firefighters and the police, the explosion would have taken place “during the chemical treatment of a part“. The accidental theory is therefore favored for the moment. An investigation has nevertheless been opened by the Montbéliard public prosecutor’s office to shed light on the incident.
What about the future of the factory? The site, classified for environmental protection in view of the chemicals used, should be forced to stop its activity. Although the damage has not yet been assessed, the damage is significant. “Shocked” et “sad“, a handful of employees were also present in front of their workplace on September 28. With a greatly reduced work tool, their professional future plunges into uncertainty.
