Dramatic picture of burning loads at the P6 blast furnace top, Hayange, France. The photo was taken by the manhole during a maintenance shutdown. For this event, the charge level is lowered a few meters and the top is opened to the atmosphere to allow auto-ignition of the carbon monoxide emanating from loads. We can see, from top to bottom: the crossing beams measuring temperature and gas composition, the throat armor made with vertical plates, the refractories (not cooled at this height) and the inflamed loads. The homogenous distribution of the flames is characteristic of a non-central-coke work.