The Feyzin refinery fire was one of Europe's first major industrial BLEVE disasters, prompting significant advances in fire protection regulations for LPG storage.
Key Facts
- Date
- 4 January 1966
- Deaths
- 18 people
- Injured
- 81 people
- Propane tank capacity
- 1,200 m³
- Duration to extinguish
- 48 hours
- Distance south of Lyon
- 10 km
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
An operator draining water from a pressurised 1,200 m³ propane storage tank caused an LPG spill. The resulting propane vapour cloud spread across the site and onto an adjoining road, where it was ignited by a passing car, triggering a fire that engulfed the storage tank.
The engulfed propane tank ruptured in a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE), producing a fireball that killed and injured firefighters and bystanders. Flying debris from the initial explosion struck adjacent spheres, causing further BLEVEs and the toppling of three more spheres. Petrol and crude oil tanks also caught fire, and the conflagration burned for 48 hours before being controlled.
The disaster killed 18 people and injured 81, with extensive damage to the refinery site. It became a landmark case study in industrial safety, directly influencing European and international regulations on fire protection for LPG storage vessels and emergency response procedures at petrochemical facilities.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 18 (fire)