The fire is contained, but continues to burn.
A fire is still in progress this Sunday morning in a factory in the town of Viviez (Aveyron), according to the department's Sdis.
Started on Saturday evening, it affected an annex of the Snam industrial site, a “site authorized for battery storage”, where lithium batteries were located, the Aveyron prefecture underlined on Saturday in its latest situation update.
However, the building is not classified among Seveso sites, i.e. industrial sites presenting a risk of major accidents.
And “the measurements carried out on site and around the site, with regard to the substances emitted in the smoke, made it possible to rule out any risk, at this stage, for the populations”, assures the press release from the prefecture.
Containment of the population was still put in place within a 500 m radius.
It was especially the hamlet of Crouzet which was evacuated, specifies the prefecture.
Traffic in the area was also cut off.
The origin of the fire unknown
On site this Sunday morning, “the fire is still in progress” but “it is under control and has significantly decreased in intensity”, assures Sdis.
The actions of the firefighters on site “continue” however because it could last “several hours, or even several days”.
“It’s a large building with a structure that has collapsed, so the fire is still smoldering underneath,” explain the firefighters.
It was site employees who alerted the firefighters on Saturday afternoon.
The origin of the fire is currently unknown.