More fear than harm. The confinement of some 30,000 residents in northern Moselle, who had been ordered to stay indoors for several hours due to a fire at an industrial waste warehouse, was lifted late Sunday afternoon. The blaze, which produced an immense plume of black smoke, was brought under control and the risk of toxicity was eliminated.
“Measurements were taken (…) to assess the impact of the smoke. The results of these analyses eliminated the risk of toxicity and pollution in the affected municipalities,” the prefecture said in a statement. Consequently, the shelter-in-place order for the towns of Gandrange, Amnéville, Clouange, Vitry-sur-Orne, and Rombas was terminated. “You may leave your home if necessary,” authorities announced in a message broadcast to mobile phones in the area.
Blaze Erupts at Seveso-Classified Site
The fire started around 10:30 a.m. Sunday in a warehouse classified as a low-threshold Seveso site, indicating a risk level according to European standards. The facility is located on the site of the company Safe (Suez Alternative Fuels & Energies) in the Gandrange industrial zone, near ArcelorMittal installations. ArcelorMittal owns the land and leases it to Safe.
“It is a generalized fire in an 800-square-meter industrial waste warehouse, the structure of which collapsed,” Géraldine Chambeaudie, a communications officer for the Moselle Fire and Rescue Operational Center (Codis), told AFP. Approximately 135 professional and volunteer firefighters were mobilized, with 40 vehicles from around twenty barracks.
Three Minor Injuries Reported
Three people sustained minor injuries during the incident. A firefighter and a site employee were transported to the hospital, while another firefighter, also slightly injured, was treated at the scene.
Throughout the morning, residents had been ordered to remain confined to their homes as a precaution. Local officials relayed official safety instructions on social media, highlighting “the presence of chemical products” and urging people to stay home, close doors and windows, and avoid any non-essential travel.
An “Awful Smell” and a Visible Plume
According to the regional daily Le Républicain Lorrain, the plume of black smoke was visible “for miles around,” reaching as far as Metz, about fifteen kilometers to the south. “When I came out of the cinema in Amnéville, it hit our nostrils, the smoke was very strong,” Amandine Vecchio, a 34-year-old municipal councilor in Clouange, told AFP. “It didn’t smell burnt, but the odor was awful, and it immediately gave me a headache.” She recounted that her 8-year-old daughter was frightened and that she told her to hold her teddy bear over her nose before calling her teenage son at home to close the windows and bring in the pets.
By late afternoon, as the smoke plume was no longer visible, a slight acrid odor still lingered at the site, AFP journalists noted. Little remained of the industrial building, which was almost entirely destroyed by the flames, and firefighters continued to douse the ruins.
