Scutching is a step in the processing of dressing flax straw to extract the outer fibre used in the textile industry.
Five products are derived from flax:
- the fibre corresponding to the longest and best fibres for use in the textile industry,
- the capsules used for animal feed after grinding and the addition of molasses,
- the seeds used for reseeding or oil production,
- the tow corresponding to the short and thicker fibres used in textiles, paper or car door trim,
- the flax shives corresponding to the inside of the stem and used to manufacture chipboard panels or bedding for animals.
At around 8 p.m., a fire broke out in the area used for loading shives in a textile factory specialising in the flax scutching process. The factory consisted of several buildings, one of which contained the scutching area, four of which were used for storage (straw and shives from the scutching process), and an unloading hall. The shives were conveyed via an auger into the room adjoining the scutching plant and then dumped into the trailers. The 9 employees working the night shift stopped the scutching machines via the emergency stop switch, which also stopped the dust control system. They alerted the operator and the fire brigade. The employees also took the trailers of shives and the bails of flax waiting to be scutched out into the courtyard and then attempted to put out the fire with extinguishers and firefighting equipment. The operator arrived on the scene at around 8:15 p.m., followed by the fire brigade. After having disconnected the power supply, the emergency services sprayed down the bails of flax. To avoid the possible spread of fire, the bails were evacuated into a field where they finish burning. The firemen then left the scene at around 1 a.m.
The fire destroyed 60 bales of flax. Production was stopped for 2 days. The extinguishing water was discharged into the site’s water system before reaching the Becque River.
According to the operator, the fire had started on a motor used to power the auger, which was located under the roof of the shives loading building. This motor was located above the shive bins. It had malfunctioned and begun to heat up. The flax dust on the motor then ignited and was discharged through the holes in the partition separating the shives loading facility and the scutching building. The flaming dust then ignited the bails of flax.
After replacing the motor and some damaged wiring, the operator:
- sealed off the openings in the partition separating the scutching room from the shives loading building,
- reinforced firefighting training based on feedback gathered from this fire,
- compiled instructions for the maintenance, upkeep, and cleaning of the scutching plant and appointed managerial staff to oversee operations,
- initiated a safety audit of the scutching process,
- reorganised the routing of ducts and piping above the platform of the shives unloading building,
- set up a fire detection system with alarm reporting.
