Warehouse with toxic lithium batteries set on fire in France
Photo: REUTERS
In the French city of Grand Curon, in the north of the country, warehouses where lithium batteries are stored burned down. The industrial complex, which contains some 12,000 batteries, is leased by the Dutch company Bollore Logistics, LeParisien writes.
The fire started in a lithium battery shed before spreading to a nearby building used by French company Distri Cash to store car tires, according to the county prefecture. According to representatives of the organization, there were some 70,000 tires in the warehouse.
Firefighters failed to defend both buildings, the warehouses burned down completely with all the merchandise. However, the fire subsided and thanks to this at least it was possible to prevent its spread to the third hangar with fabrics and knitwear.
Bollore Logistics issued a press release announcing the establishment of a public relations crisis center, specifying that at the moment it has no information on the causes of the fire, its extent and the victims. The prefect and the county fire marshal had already left for the scene of the fire.
In the French city of Grand Curon, in the north of the country, warehouses where lithium batteries are stored burned down.
Photo: REUTERS
Lithium releases hydrofluoric acid when burned and can be toxic. The nearest settlement is only half a kilometer from the place of the fire, so the municipal services urged residents to close all the windows and not go out into the street under any pretext. “Specialists have already withdrawn from the place and are carrying out the necessary neutralization measures. According to the preliminary air quality measurements carried out by the fire brigade, there is no longer any particular cause for concern,” said Prefect Pierre-André Durand.
This is not the first major industrial building fire in the county. In September 2019, a fire ravaged the specialty chemicals plant of the American company Lubrizol. The prefecture ordered the evacuation of the population within a radius of 500 meters, closed schools in nearby municipalities and then recommended getting rid of all newly purchased food.
