Saturday 15 September 2012
Australia
Cotton farming
Fire crews could be working for days to extinguish a blaze at a cotton gin in central western NSW that's ruined $7 million worth of cotton bales.
Queensland Cotton, the owner of the plant at Warren, has confirmed 530 cotton modules have been destroyed, and many are still on fire.
Chief superintendent Neil Harris, from Fire and Rescue NSW, says the cause of the blaze isn't known, but eight fire investigators, as well as police forensic officers, are checking the scene.
He says it's a very challenging fire and is likely to burn out of control for days.
"When the modules are actually burning, they form a crust on the module itself, or the bale, and water jets can't penetrate it," he said.
"The only way to extinguish the actual cotton itself is to open it up to the air, let it burn more fiercely, and it actually extinguishes itself by self burning."
Queensland Cotton says the modules were insured.
Source: None
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