“Leave nothing to chance!” : exercise in a risk zone for the Sète firefighters, on the wastewater treatment plant

Les agents de Suez et les pompiers de Sète ont simulé une intervention en plein cœur de la zone de méthanisation. Midi Libre – NICOLAS ZARROUK

Les agents de Suez et les pompiers de Sète ont simulé une intervention en plein cœur de la zone de méthanisation, ce mardi 16 janvier, sur le site de la Step Thau Maritima.

The Sète firefighters were deployed in large numbers this Tuesday, January 16 at the start of the afternoon on the site of the Thau Maritima wastewater treatment plant in Sète. An intervention triggered by Suez, the site manager, following a fire in the methanization zone, concomitant with the fall of an agent to the bottom of a difficult to access pit. nbsp;located nearby. Fortunately this Tuesday, the disaster scenario was indeed that of an exercise, the first of its kind on the Step put into service in September 2022.

In the middle of an explosion risk zone

Which did not prevent all the players in the alert and rescue chain from evolving in real conditions, on a site industrial risk that the Sète firefighters discovered for the first time. "This type of exercise meets three objectives for our teams, explains Lieutenant Nicolas Bec, in charge of the organization for Sdis34. The first is to allow us to practice on industrial sites which have quite a few specificities. In the case of this new treatment plant, the challenge is also to identify the locations so as not to waste time in the event of a real disaster. And the purpose will be to debrief and produce operational documents, to facilitate future interventions."

IN PICTURES. Fire, risk of explosion and victim evacuation: full-scale emergency exercise in Sète

The scenario chosen for the exercise placed the emergency services in a delicate position, in the middle of the sludge digester, the gasometer – a huge balloon containing the biogas – and the pipes connected to the GRDF biomethane network. The fire (materialized by luminous markings) and the injured agent (a Suez team member had volunteered) were at the heart of an Atex zone, i.e. a sector "at risk of explosion". A sector from which all electronic devices must be banned, from smartphones to connected watches and even car keys.

"We always prepare for the worst, it's the principle of prevention"

"It's an additional difficulty, but we always prepare for the worst, that's the principle of the' preventive exercise, explains Maxime Comte, Health and Safety specialist at Suez. We are on an already very secure site, with alert procedures and night and weekend on-call to react as quickly as possible. We have two first aid officers on duty, and the entire team has received training. But we must continually improve our procedures, and refine our communication with the firefighters."

The latest generation wastewater treatment plant in Sète is exposed to several industrial risks. The environmental risk, in the event of discharge of polluted water without treatment directly into nature, the chemical risk, mainly linked to the handling of dangerous products, and the risk of gas explosion. In the latter case, the disaster scenario could partially destroy the site, but would not threaten the inhabitants of Sète. "We are far from the Seveso classified sites of Frontignan or the port of Sète", confirm the firefighters.

But caution remains in place at the wastewater treatment plant, which injects 525,000 normal cubic meters of biomethane per year into the GRDF network, or enough to supply 800 homes. As Mathilde Le Roux, deputy director of the Suez agency in the Thau region, confirms:  "These exercises are expected to be repeated, to highlight the impact of the situation. #39;test our responsiveness and emergency procedures. In crisis management, we leave nothing to chance!"

I subscribe to read more