Firefighters and workers at a Rockville, Maryland, research lab underwent decontamination after being exposed to smoke from a sterilization machine that caught fire Thursday morning, authorities say.
According to the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service, employees of the lab were sterilizing materials in an a biohazard room using an autoclave when the substance in the autoclave caught fire.
An autoclave is a machine that uses steam pressure to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores on items placed inside, the fire department said. The machine heats items or substances to high, sterilizing temperatures for a set amount of time.
The substance in the lab's autoclave gave off enough smoke to warrant evacuating the "MilliporeSigma" building, a large commercial structure, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said.
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When firefighters arrived at the building in the 9900 block of Blackwell Road, smoke was still coming out. Fire crews and a hazmat team worked to get the fire under control, Piringer said in a statement on social media.
Video shows several Montgomery County fire trucks outside the lab building, along with dozens of firefighters and first responders.
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Out of an abundance of caution, the workers and firefighters exposed to the smoke from the autoclave were decontaminated. It's not known what exactly the substance in the autoclave was, Piringer said.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
