A grain processing plant belonging to the Soufflet Alimentaire group and located in Valenciennes (North) was hit by a fire overnight from Friday to Saturday.
The flames ravaged "a warehouse of 1000 square meters containing cardboard boxes" on this "industrial site nested in the urban fabric," announced a spokesman for the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis). Up to 95 firefighters and 35 machines were mobilized to fight the fire.
🚨 #Intervention in progress
Violent #Fire in Valenciennes
The firefighters # firefighters of @ departement59 have been mobilized since 1:30 am this Saturday for a 🔥 in a cardboard storage warehouse.
95 firefighters are hard at work. pic.twitter.com/cDVjgRouID
'Big fire in a factory in #Valenciennes Quartier Faubourg de Paris pic.twitter.com/kE4IeoChZZ
- abdelhamide traka 🇫🇷 🇩🇿 (@abdeltraka) February 22, 2020According to the testimony of several residents, collected by France Bleu Nord, several large explosions were heard in the middle of the night. Gigantic flames and thick black smoke were observed in the neighborhood, where there are many dwellings.
"No trace of pollution" of the river
The incident and the smoke left "a slight injured person, a local resident" and led to the evacuation of "25 employees and 20 local residents", who were taken care of in a room made available by the town hall.
The first analyzes carried out on site indicated "no trace of pollution" of the Scheldt, the river on the edge of which the site is located. "For now, the pollution is contained on the site," said the spokesman for Sdis.
