a hundred firefighters are still fighting the grain silo fire

This Thursday, August 10, around eight o’clock in the morning, a fire broke out not far from the commercial port of La Rochelle, learned Le Figaro with the firefighters of Charente-Maritime, confirming information from France Blue La Rochelle. In the district of La Pallice, the flames seized a silo for drying cereals from SICA Atlantique, a port logistics operator. The fire then spread to three other silos, according to information published by the prefecture in a press release. According to the firefighters, the fire, of accidental origin, is due to a conveyor belt which allows the grain to be brought up in the silo. The smoke that emanated from the place of the fire formed an impressive black cloud, visible for several kilometers around.

120 firefighters and 22 intervention vehicles were mobilized on the spot, specifies the prefecture: “a 72-meter nacelle arrived on site to facilitate the intervention of the firefighters on the grain loading belt and the roof of the silos” , the statement said. The employees who were on site as well as a home were evacuated, and a security perimeter was set up. A departmental operational center to coordinate the services engaged in the fight against the fire has been set up, specifies the prefecture. The fire is still ongoing, “but remains contained”, specifies the prefecture. To prevent the fire from spreading, the surrounding silos were emptied of their grain.