Firefighters up to their knees in river of butter after huge fire at dairy

06 January 2023 , 15:12

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Firefighters up to their knees in river of butter after huge fire at dairy

Firefighters tackling a huge blaze at a dairy had to wade through a river of melted butter sometimes up to their knees.

Emergency services were called to the scene at the dairy after smoke and fire were reported billowing from the roof.

The first firefighting teams to arrive were pushed back by the heat and smoke and had to wait until aerial apparatus could be brought in.

It broke out at the Associated Milk Producers facility in Portage, Wisconsin, US, at around 9pm on Monday night.

The fire had started in the room where butter was being stored and once heated, the melted butter began to flow through the building.

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Fire crews managed to get access to each end of the building to prevent the fire spread but couldn't enter due to the rivers of butter and heavy smoke.

The scene looking down into the dairy (Portage Fire Department)

The blaze took hours to contain but thankfully did not spread throughout the firewalls and throughout the building.

Portage Fire Chief Troy Haase told WMTV it was the butter that was the main obstacle for fire crews.

He said: “When we first tried to go up the stairs to that part that collapsed, this stuff, the butter was running down like three inches thick on the steps so our guys were up to their knees trying to go up the steps to get to the top and they’re trying to drag the hose line, the hose line got so full of butter they couldn’t hang onto it anymore."

The fire shows the damage to the roof at the dairy (WMTV)

Teams also had to work hard to stop the melted butter flowing into nearby storm drains and a nearby Portage Canal.

Buses were drafted in to giver emergency crews somewhere to stay warm amid the buttery carnage and rest before heading back out to contain the situation.

A boom was placed across the canal to absorb the runoff butter and environmental experts have been drafted in to assess the wider damage.

Fire crews at the scene (Portage Fire Department)

Chunks of butter could still be seen scattered throughout the scene following the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Around 30 employees were in the building at the time of the fire and they were all safely evacuated.

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Thankfully no injuries were reported.

Unsuprisingly dairy operations have been temporarily halted following the blaze.

Charlie Jones