At least 2,000 m2 burned, but no casualties were reported. A fire, still in progress, broke out on Monday morning in a waste sorting center southeast of Strasbourg, we learned from the Bas-Rhin prefecture.
“More than 90 firefighters are already engaged on the spot and 37 devices are deployed to stop the spread of the fire”, specifies the prefecture of Bas-Rhin in a press release. Since around 9:30 a.m., a plume of black and thick smoke has been visible for several kilometers around, AFP journalists have noted.
A stock of wood and bulky items caught fire
The site of the Sardi company, which usually employs around twenty people, is located on the edge of the Alsace canal, an arm of the Rhine. Access to the area has been blocked and the authorities are urging the population not to go there.
The site, which is not Seveso classified, mainly houses industrial waste, coming from the waste collection centers of the surrounding communities, stored on a 30,000 m2 site, including 8,000 m2 of covered area. “A stock of wood and bulky items caught fire, no hazardous materials were affected. The fire is under control,” said a spokesperson for the company.
The origin of the fire was not established at the end of the morning. “Waste is categorized and usually stored in silos to prevent fires from spreading,” Sardi said.