Officials Investigating Unusual SSHAM Oil Fire At Lahaina Facility

Fire officials in Lahaina say they are still investigating the cause of a major fire that engulfed the SSHAM processing plant Thursday afternoon. While no one was killed in the blaze, dozens were treated for smoke inhalation, and many remain in the Lahaina Medical Center this morning. According to those on the scene, multiple containers of SSHAM oil spontaneously caught fire while cooling off behind the factory.

The Lahaina Fire Department says they responded to a call about a fire behind the SSHAM facility Thursday and found numerous pallets of burning SSHAM oil when they arrived. They were initially unable to contain the fire with standard equipment and were forced to use fire suppressing foam. According to the report, several other containers spontaneously combusted while firefighters tried to put out the growing inferno. It took several hours to contain and spread to the factory building itself before first responders could extinguish the blaze. Officials say they are still investigating the exact cause of the unusual fire, but that it is most likely a result of a new filtering and cooling process developed by the company.

“It smelled so good when we arrived that we didn’t believe that it was SSHAM oil burning,” says a first responder who wishes to remain anonymous. “We learned that it was, a few minutes later. When we turned on the hoses it just spread. We broke out the AFF (aqueous film-forming foam), but that didn’t seem to slow things down either. We put in a call for some class “A” foam and tried to make sure the facility was clear, but then another stack of oil just went up in flames. It was a nightmare. There were over 20 stacks of oil cooling out there, and we didn’t know which one was going to catch fire next. We eventually got everything under control, but it was one of the weirdest calls I’ve ever been on. I still can’t believe how good that stuff smelled, even after we dumped all those chemicals on it. It was like a combination of the ocean breeze and my tutu’s kitchen in the morning. It burned like the devil, but it smelled like heaven.”

A month ago SSHAM and the Hawaiian Association of Certified Wedding Planners (HCWP) reached a settlement in a case regarding the infamous smell associated with oil’s production. The HCWP claimed that the odor constituted a nuisance and was causing irreparable harm to their business. They had sought to shut down production in Lahaina, and asked for millions in damages. As part of the settlement, SSHAM paid an undisclosed amount to the organization, and changed the method in which they make, and filter the popular oil.

SSHAM CEO and creator Art Pua’a says the company is cooperating with investigators, and he is just glad nobody was seriously injured.

“I was born and raised in Hawaii, and I like to think that we run SSHAM with the aloha spirit that I was taught as a child. That means we value our people above all else. I’m not sure that I can properly express how thankful I am that everyone is going to be alright. This could have gone much worse. I also want to thank the brave men and women in the fire department for putting the lives of our employees above their own. They have my undying gratitude. While our new oil extraction and filtering process obviously has some stability issues to work out, I think one thing is clear. We nailed the problem with the smell. I actually have a piece of one of the pallets in my office right now. Even with the charring and dried foam it makes the whole room smell like a dream. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the HCWP lately, but they may have forced us into one of the greatest breakthroughs ever for the ‘meat of 1,000 uses.’”

Many however have new concerns about the safety of SSHAM oil, and its possible impact on the environment. “This stuff burns hot enough to melt steel beams and is resistant to the most common type of fire retardant. We need to be concerned and ask ourselves what SSHAM isn’t telling us about these fires,” says Kimberly Hekili from the Lahaina Conservation Association (LCA).

“I drove near the factory this morning myself, and the reports are true. It smells fantastic. It totally covers up any hint of burnt materials or chemicals, but It doesn’t matter how good it smells if it explodes while cooling and burns everything to the ground. We need to investigate what is making the oil so volatile, and its long-term impact on the environment. Our wild areas are as fragile as they are beautiful, and we need to care about more than just how they smell.”