Over 24 hours later, firefighters are still helping clean up at the Goetz and Sons warehouse, after flames engulfed the building full of cotton products.
Lubbock Fire Rescue says they still aren’t sure of the exact cause.
Experts at Plains Cotton Growers said, it’s not uncommon for cotton product to catch fire and burn quickly.
“In a warehouse fire where you’ve got linters and cotton, there’s a concentration of a lot of combustible material in there. Once the fire gets started it is very difficult to try and extinguish it,” Executive Vice President of Plains Cotton Growers Steve Verett said.
Fire crews were called to the facility off E. 46th and Locust, just after 9 p.m. They said they went into full defensive mode, and the first crew had to immediately call for help, due to the size of the fire and the proximity to other buildings. The inside of the building was fully involved.
While the cause is still unknown, Verett said “hotspots” can develop inside cotton linter bales.
“The problem is when they are stacked in there, you know, you can have a fire in a cotton bale, or module, or anything,” Verett said. “A fire can be internal to that bale of linters or bale of cotton or anything, and it not be known for quite some time. And until it gets some oxygen, it’s hard to know that you have a problem. That makes it very hard for firefighters to be able to get to.”
Verett said these “hotspots” can stay undetected for more than a week, before either extinguishing themselves or causing a blaze.
Verett said, that’s why the industry must be careful. He said, “Everyone has to be conscious of what’s going on, and to smell and watch.”
Goetz and Sons, the cotton linting business who owns the warehouse, isn’t alone. Verett said they’ve seen more fires this year out in the fields during harvest as well, due to dry conditions and the quality of this year’s crop.
“It’s not an everyday occurance, by any means, but it always something you are worried about.”
Verett also said this won’t have any negative effects for South Plains farmers, but it’s a loss for the linting company, which could affect the value of linters in the future.
Meanwhile LFR said, they’d have crew out at the scene assisting crews from the company.