Flour-Like Product in Austria Proves Difficult to Extinguish

A factory manufacturing algae flour filled with smoke from heat building in production equipment Sunday afternoon in southeast Austria.

At about 3:30 p.m., workers alerted firefighters about a suspected fire at the factory in Kammern in Liesingtal. On arrival, firefighters immediately donned breathing apparatus due to heavy smoke.

Responders traced the smoke to an overheated filter in a product separator used to process algae meal into a flour-like substance used in sportwear. Water from several high-pressure nozzles hit the fire from different angles.

Nine emergency vehicles and 50 responders deployed to the fire scene. Firefighters divided into five separate crews, using 24 compressed air bottles in total.

The flammable nature of the algae flour made extinguishment difficult. Firefighters battled the blaze more than 3½ hours using water drafted from a icy pond nearby. Responders chopped a hole in the frozen surface to reach the water.

After four hours firefighters returned the factory to its owners.

Investigators estimated the damage at about 50,000 euros ($60,560 U.S.).