AUSTIN — The Austin Fire Department took to social media Wednesday to outline not just one, but two "spontaneous combustion" events at an area tortilla chip factory.
According to the AFD, crews responded to 6110 Trade Center Drive on July 12 for reports of a spontaneous combustion of tortilla chips.
"The factory in question was trying out a new blend of chips that, suffice it to say, didn’t work out so well," the AFD wrote. "The fire was confined to the exterior of the building and to multiple pallets of food waste, but large cardboard boxes of the same waste continued to ignite while we were on scene!"
The fire department then said additional boxes of the same food waste spontaneously combusted just three days later.
The AFD said crews solved the problem by drowning all of the other crates that had yet to burn, eliminating further risk completely.
"Tortilla chips are big business around these parts. We take them seriously, as they are responsible for holding all manner of very important things—like queso, salsa, nachos, and various other sundry items that are critical to a Texan’s everyday life and well-being," the AFD wrote. "So imagine how distressed we were to be called to a fire at a tortilla chip factory earlier this week…not once, but twice!"
