On October 10th, during a period of low production prior to departing for the weekend, only 9 people were present at the site when a demolding agent leak occurred in a supply hose located in the foaming workshop.
The hose in question supplies the demolding agent spray gun. The agent consists of a 98 % solvent mixture with a flash point of 26 °C. Despite the slow flow of the leak, it ended up creating a large puddle (30-40 m²) since no staff were in that zone. Following discovery of the accidental leak, the team leader requested that it be cleaned up. A ride-on sweeper was put into use but a spontaneous fire broke out underneath it.
The emergency action plan was immediately set in motion. Since the fire spread very quickly, the staff was unable to use the primary fire-fighting equipment and evacuated the building. All fluids and energy sources were cut off.
The absence of a sprinkler system favored worsening of the situation. Uncontained, the fire quickly became intense and spread to the nearby production equipment. In addition, production stocks at the line heads fed the fire with combustible material.
