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Staffordshire Recycling Centre Lithium Battery Fire
July 5 @ 12:00 am - August 1 @ 12:00 am
Staffordshire Recycling Centre Lithium Battery Fire
- Date of incidents; 5th July 2024, August 1st, 2024
- Location; Burslem, Staffordshire
- Type of business; Recycling centre
- Use of building; Open Warehouse Unit approx. 1,000m2
- Location of fire; plant machinery industrial shredder 5m x 3m
- Ignition source; lithium battery
- Automatic Fire Suppression System; Bespoke Drencher Type Sprinkler System
- Fire Rescue Service; Staffordshire Fire Rescue Service (SFRS)
SFRS have reported the following two fires in a waste recycling centre fires in the space of 4 weeks activating the bespoke sprinkler system involving an industrial shredder, conveyor belt which had chewed into a lithium-ion battery to explode and catch light. On both occasions fire growth was restricted by the activation of the sprinkler system until the arrival of operational crews.
Group Manager James Green, stated following one of the fires: “Since the fire began this morning, we’ve managed to get it under control and have since scaled back our attendance at the scene.
“While an investigation into the cause of the fire is being carried out, I want to advise people that disposing of batteries inappropriately can not only cause damage to the environment but also increases the risk of fires occurring.
“Incidents such as this present a real challenge to the waste industry, and we would urge local businesses and households to ensure that batteries are separated from general waste and disposed of appropriately via one of the many battery recycling schemes in operation.
“The energy density of batteries has increased significantly in recent years as the technology has developed and even the smallest battery has the potential to cause a serious fire.”
Links/sources
If you want to make a difference working in the fire sector, we need your assistance……
To make sprinklers the norm and not the exception – we need the evidence. Encouraging the FRS to promote, collate, report sprinkler activations to Sprinkler Saves UK will help to create a central and comprehensive record of fire incidents where sprinklers played their role in containing/controlling or extinguishing the fire.
If you hear of a save report it using this link
