Tuesday June 18, at the end of the day, a fire broke out in an agricultural building, located at a place called “Brenat” in the town of Saint-Just-près-Brioude. The presence of fertilizer complicated the intervention of the firefighters, who are still on site this morning.
For a reason, which the gendarmerie investigation will have to determine, the fire broke out, Tuesday June 18 around 6:30 p.m., in an agricultural building with a surface area of 400 m² located at a place called “Brenat” in the commune of Saint- Just-près-Brioude.
Inside it were 20 tonnes of fodder as well as 30 cows. They were quickly evacuated and brought to safety.
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But it is above all the presence of more than 4 tonnes of ammonitrate and other fertilizers, potentially explosive in contact with the fire, which made emergency intervention complicated.
Faced with the very significant risk of explosion, a security perimeter was set up around the hangar and the village was completely closed to traffic, from the RD 171, in order, in particular, to facilitate the circulation of emergency equipment.
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A 20,000 volt high voltage power line, passing just above the building, was blocked by Enedis in the early evening and is still blocked this Wednesday morning, depriving around 70 people of electricity.
To try to control the fire and avoid any risk of explosion, around fifty firefighters from across the department and even from Cantal spared no effort throughout the night.
Drones, temperature readings, pollution…
Water lances, controlled remotely, were positioned all around the building in order to lower the temperature without endangering the firefighters. In the absence of nearby water points and to avoid impacting the local network, rescuers carried out numerous norias to a water reservoir located between the places called “La Rodde” and “La New house.”
The specialized chemical risk team carried out several surveys of atmospheric and toxic pollution in order to allow firefighters to progress in complete safety. They were also able to count on the valuable help of drones.
This Wednesday morning, the risk of explosion is completely eliminated. The village has reopened and the security perimeter has been reduced. Firefighters are expected to remain on site all day, in particular to help owners extract the fodder.
Mathilde Fontès
