Oklahoma City Fire crews rushed to a warehouse in Del City Tuesday morning, where they worked to put out a fire that started from a pallet of lithium-ion batteries. They stayed on the scene for several hours to make sure the fire was out, and nothing else would spark.
Oklahoma City Fire crews said it started because the owner of the battery recycling warehouse and several workers noticed smoke pouring from a pallet and called for help.
“These lithium-ion batteries, they essentially create their own heat. We call it thermal runaway. So, they’re very dangerous. They can spontaneously combust,” said Scott Douglas with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
Fire crews worked quickly and used a forklift to remove a door at the warehouse, then covered the lithium batteries in foam to cool them.
“So, the foam just creates a blanket, allows the oxygen to not penetrate. It just helps kind of seal around that to make sure that we can get it fully extinguished,” said Douglas. The chemicals were so toxic, firefighters have to be hosed down as a precaution.
“We know there’s a known hazard there with a lithium ion and that smoke’s just not good for us to breathe in. So all of our firefighters are going through a deacon process and all their gear will be sent back to the extractors to be washed and cleaned and brought back,” said Douglas.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department said all the employees were able to get away from the fire quickly and no one was hurt. OKC Fire crews stayed on the scene for several hours after the fire started to ensure everything was under control.
