Fire Destroys Soap Factory in Western Australia

A fire at a soap factory Friday morning in western Australia is producing large amounts of smoke, prompting fire officials to issue a hazmat general warning for the area.

At about 4:30 a.m., fire broke out at the Aussie Soap Supplies plant in Melville, a suburb of Perth, local media report. Officials declared the fire under control about three and a half hours later.

As of 7:44 p.m., a hazmat alert remained in place for parts of Samson, O’Connor, Kardinya and Willagee.

Essential oils used in manufacturing soap fueled the flames, fire officials stated.

A press release states that the fire did heavy damage to the company’s offices and warehouses.

“As you can imagine, on top of everything else this year has thrown at all of us, it certainly is devastating news,” the release states.