On Monday, May 30, at 7:30 AM, a fire broke out in Building 12 of Simafex's Marans factory. This was due to overheating. The heat reached the phosphate-slurry reactor, where it rose to a very high temperature, melting the PVC pipes.

The fire was put out by the Seveso classified-site intervention group. It was then taken care of later by the fire departments of Marans and La Rochelle. The technological unit detected no toxic gas leakage and therefore no injuries to employees or residents.

Simafex is a chemical company belonging to the Guerbet Group that manufactures Dotarem. This contrast product is injected prior to going through an MRI (magnetic radiation imaging). After the disaster had been under control, firefighters stepped in to help.