A dead obese woman's body fat is being blamed for a fire that hit a crematorium in Austria, a UK-based news site reported this week.

UK's Daily Mail reported firefighters in the southern city of Graz were covered in soot and grease as they tried to prevent the blaze from razing the building.

The Daily Mail cited an expert report on the Austria fire showing the woman being cremated weighed more than 200kg and her size had caused the oven to overheat.

"I have never come across such a case," remarked funeral director Christea Bogdan of Gillman Undertakers in Tooting, south London.

Firefighters in the Austrian fire had to use special breathing gear to avoid inhaling the fumes, the Daily Mail report said.

It added the case, which was reported in Austrian media, sparked calls for a weight limit on bodies to protect against future fires.

Some countries such as Switzerland and the UK already have facilities to accommodate extra large bodies, amid a growing trend of expanding waistlines.

The Daily Mail report cited local Austrian news accounts as saying the crematorium's filter temperature reached 300 degrees Celsius.

It added officials realized there was a problem when thick black smoke started billowing into the building.

Officials switched off the equipment but the filter was already on fire by then.

XXL crematoriums

Following the incident, Austrian crematorium officials are considering putting a maximum weight on bodies.

The firefighters had to bring the fire under control by sending a blast of water in through the vents used to clear the filter.

Repair work took several days, during which time the crematorium was out of action.

The report also cited accounts of similar problems at other cemeteries not only in Austria but also in Switzerland.

"We do have large bodies that we have to deal with, which weigh 30+ stone, but not very often. We follow the same procedures as usual for large bodies. We have to check the size in the crematorium to check the person in the coffin will fit in the crematorium," Bogdan said.

Bogdan added most crematoriums dealt with a standard 36-inch outside measurement of a coffin.

However, there were some facilities, such as the City of London Crematorium, which now cater to larger, 50- to 55-inch coffin circumferences.

"Crematorium officials need to be more responsible and not just automatically put everybody in to be cremated," said Graz-based fireman Otto Widetschek.

He added that in Switzerland, there were moves now to make sure that XXL bodies were routinely shipped to a special crematorium able to deal with the extra heat caused by larger bodies. — LBG, GMA News