Emergency crews respond to chemical fire at Utah lab

March 11, 2013

The company was cooking four types of acids at high temperatures to make bromine when the cooking appliance overheated and caught fire.

Emergency crews responded to a chemical fire Saturday at Chemtech-Ford Laboratories in Murray, Utah.

According to the Murray fire department, the company was cooking four types of acids at high temperatures to make bromine when the cooking appliance overheated and caught fire. An employee discovered the fire when she entered a smoke-filled room of the laboratory Saturday around 1:00 p.m., KUTV.com reported.

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"His cooking appliance he was using to cook these acids to make the final product overheated," Deputy Fire Marshal Russ Groves told the Deseret News. "I believe it started in the thermostat, it overheated and actually caught the countertop on fire."

The fire was isolated to one room and a HAZMAT crew was called in to deal with the chemicals. Three people were in the lab at the time, but no one was injured.

Officials said the chemicals in use had been diluted and pose no risk

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