‘Spontaneous combustion’ of tortilla chips sends fire dept. to factory twice

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Firefighters responded twice in one week to a southeast Austin tortilla chip factory for the “spontaneous combustion of tortilla chips.”

The Austin Fire Department posted about the events on Facebook Wednesday, saying crews responded July 12 and July 15 to 6110 Trade Center Dr. The factory was reportedly trying out a new blend of chips.

“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 department wrote. “Then, to add insult to injury, additional (previously uninvolved) boxes of the same food waste spontaneously combusted just three days later.”

Crews “drowned” (not in salsa) the rest of the chips to keep more from catching on fire. AFD says there were no damages (besides to the chips).