A spectacular fire has been declared in a classified factory in Lubrizol Seveso in Rouen, which has not caused casualties but has required that the prefecture has taken important safety measures to protect the inhabitants who have been asked to remain in their homes while schools and institutes have been closed.
Around 2:30 in the morning, a fire broke out in a factory warehouse , located about 3 km away. from the city center and the cathedral of Rouen. The plant, classified as 'high level' of risk in the Seveso directive, manufactures and markets additives used to enrich oils, fuels or industrial paints.
The column of black smoke released, linked to the presence of "hydrocarbons", is "necessarily angiogenic", but the "first analyzes did not reveal any acute toxicity in the main molecules we are monitoring, which is quite reassuring," said the Prefect from Normandy Pierre-André Durand.
Residents heard noises of explosions at night, but they were barrels of oil that exploded, according to the prefecture.
A crisis cell has been created in the prefecture, which has triggered alarm sirens in several municipalities of Seine-Maritime to notify residents.
"In this case, it is essential to inform the population directly ... to avoid panic, " said Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, according to which "there is no evidence to suggest that there is a risk associated with smoke . "
A perimeter of 500 meters around the site has been evacuated , and the few inhabitants of this industrial zone have been recommended to stay at home, according to the prefect.
"The fire is not controlled yet. 200 emergency personnel and more than 60 vehicles have been mobilized ; and national reinforcements are expected," said a fire chief at about 7:30 in the morning, to quell a fire from " technically complex, "as qualified by the prefect.
Establishments open to the public such as schools, colleges, high schools and kindergartens in Rouen have been closed as well as those of eleven other neighboring municipalities, the prefecture said. Nursing homes are under protective measures, according to the same source.
According to an AFP correspondent at the scene, there was a pungent smell . The prefecture has asked citizens to "limit non-essential displacements" and added that public transport works.
Precedents
Created in 1954 on the banks of the Seine, on the left bank of the river, this factory was classified as "high level" Seveso because of the risks involved.
In January 2013, it had caused a smelly gas leak that had spread to the Paris region and to the south of England. The following year, Lubrizol France was fined 4,000 euros.
The fumes, with a smell similar to cabbage or rotten eggs, were mercaptans, a harmless compound that was used in low doses as a marker for city gas. In 1990 an incident with mercaptan had already occurred, but the winds had pushed the smell towards the coast.
More recently, in 2015, some 2,000 liters of mineral oil were released in the stormwater drainage system following an "operational incident" in the chemical plant.
The Rouen plant belongs to the US chemical group Lubrizol Corporation, in turn owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of the billionaire and famous American investor Warren Buffett.
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