A spectacular fire, which did not cause any casualties, in Lubrizol factory of Rouen, was mastered, Thursday, September 26 at mid-day. Residents closest to the site could return home in the evening, authorities said. This site, which manufactures additives to enrich oils, fuels and paints is classified Seveso high threshold, that is to say, it is subject to increased surveillance due to the presence of hazardous substances.

According to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who visited by midday nearby, the fire is "confined" and "should not develop again". The schools of the 12 municipalities concerned and part of Rouen will remain closed on Friday and "reopen Monday," told the press the prefect of Normandy, Pierre-André Durand. Moreover, "it is always advisable for the fragile people of these municipalities to stay at home until Friday night," he added.

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"No risk" for drinking water

The public transport of the agglomeration were stopped "progressively" Thursday afternoon and should resume normally Friday morning, a measure "not justified", according to the prefect. The Polmar plan has been deployed to ward off pollution from the Seine that has not been observed yet, said the state representative. There is "no risk" for drinking water because there is no catchment in the area, he said.

The part affected by the fire represents "about 10% of the site Lubrizol", is "1.1 hectare out of 14", said in the evening the prefect to AFP. Founded in 1954 on the banks of the Seine, the Lubrizol plant, which has about 400 employees, is owned by the US chemicals group Lubrizol Corporation, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of American billionaire Warren Buffett.

A factory "perfectly level"

Regarding this chemical plant, the CGT asked in a statement "complete transparency on the risks incurred" after the fire, being concerned about the level of safety in this company where a serious incident had already occurred in 2013. On the last point, the prefect said that this plant "is the standards as we have seen in 2019", "perfectly level". However, he acknowledged that "it has not always been" and that in 2017, "it was the subject of a formal notice" because of "17 failures" and then "the upgrade was been carried out, "he assured.

In a statement, Lubrizol said that "the fire hit a warehouse, a power plant and an administrative building". In total, 200 firefighters took part in the operations, a "lightened during the night" device. The fire has been "under control since [Thursday] 11 am", but "not extinguished", said at the point-press the firefighters Colonel Jean-Yves Lagalle, pointing out that "there are a lot of hot spots".

Additional analyzes

"In the coming days, there will be a job not necessarily extinction, but monitoring" of these hot spots, particularly because of the presence of flammable products, said the colonel of firefighters.

"The site is very large and it must be visited in a very meticulous way, including the sewers", added in the evening the prefect of Normandy. "It can give rise to the emanation of odors, resembling gas, following the extinction of a fire of this magnitude". In this case, we must "not be surprised," he said, adding that the analyzes conducted so far had found nothing abnormal.

Pierre-André Durand also said that soot fell on the city and its surroundings because of the plume of smoke would "give rise to additional analysis."

A smell up to Picardy

An impressive plume of smoke, 22 km long and six wide, flew over the area much of the day. In addition to schools or welcoming the public, many restaurants and shops in Rouen were closed Thursday, said an AFP journalist.

The smell of pollution was felt in the north and in Picardy, according to the prefectures. An investigation to determine the origin of the fire, for the time "unknown", was opened by the public prosecutor of Rouen who began "the investigations from this day". In January 2013, after a malodorous gas leak, Lubrizol France was fined 4,000 euros in 2014.

With AFP