VALDOSTA —
City firefighters continued spraying water on smoldering sawdust Monday evening at the Langdale Company.
At approximately 5 p.m. Monday, the Valdosta Fire Department received a call of a fire at the timber industry’s Madison Highway site, said Fire Chief J.D. Rice.
A ladder truck and three pumpers responded to the call to extinguish a fire within a pile of sawdust.
While the top layers of sawdust may be doused with water and a fire may seem extinguished, a blaze can continue smoldering in the dry sawdust beneath the surface, Rice explained.
Firefighters continuously pour water into the pile to ensure thatthe sawdust is properly hydrated and the fire is out.
Rice said plenty of hydrants are installed around the Langdale Company location to ensure a steady water supply.
Though the cause of the fire was officially unknown Monday evening, Rice said such blazes typically start by the friction heat of a conveyor belt running too hot.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
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