A fire broke out this Wednesday, November 13 at the beginning of the afternoon in a grain dryer located in Beaune, in Côte-d'Or. The incident, which occurred in rue Gaston Chevrolet, near the A31 motorway, required significant resources due to the risk of the building collapsing and spreading to neighboring infrastructure.
The fire was reported around 2:30 p.m. The grain dryer, containing around 60 tonnes of sunflowers, is threatened by flames which could spread to adjacent buildings. Faced with this imminent danger, businesses in the Beaune-Vignolles industrial zone were evacuated as a preventative measure. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far.
Significant mobilization of firefighters
Firefighting operations are underway and the origin of the fire remains unknown. For now, 44 firefighters have been mobilized to try to contain the fire. The firefighters come from several intervention centers in the region: Beaune, Nolay, Dijon and Seurre.
In order to control the situation, 5 fire vehicles as well as 2 large ladders were deployed on site. Faced with the seriousness of the incident, the Departmental Fire and Rescue Operations Center (Codis) was activated at the orange level, indicating high monitoring of the situation.
Security forces are continuing their mission to prevent the flames from spreading further. The priority remains to bring the fire under control before it causes more material damage. Additional information on developments will be communicated at a later date.
Risk of collapse and preventive evacuation
In addition to fighting the fire, a major concern for emergency services concerns the stability of the building. The grain dryer, engulfed in flames, threatens to collapse, thus increasing the risks for the responding firefighters and for neighboring facilities.
Businesses in the area were evacuated to prevent any additional accidents. Firefighter teams are working to contain the fire within a secure perimeter and protect surrounding facilities.
