Idstein fire brigade in action: Lithium battery fire danger successfully averted

Idstein fire brigade in action: Lithium battery fire danger successfully averted

The Idstein fire department was called to Maximilianstrasse on Friday evening at 6 p.m. A battery safe containing around 20 lithium-ion battery packs for electrical devices caught fire on site. The problem was that the safe was right next to a building, which is why additional forces from Idstein and Idstein-Wörsdorf were immediately requested. The emergency services acted quickly and pulled the burning safe to a safe distance to prevent anything worse from happening. The fire was extinguished using a special extinguishing agent, but the first attempt to allow the batteries to burn out in a controlled manner had to be aborted due to renewed flame formation, as reported by nachrichten-heute.net.

The danger of lithium-ion batteries should not be underestimated. These batteries can re-ignite after a fire or if damaged due to a so-called “thermal runaway” process. To avoid this, the Idstein fire department used a special roll-off container to cool the burning or damaged batteries in a water bath. To ensure that no further reactions occur, the batteries are stored in water for approximately 72 hours. A total of 8 vehicles and 26 emergency services were on duty until around 8:30 p.m., while there is currently no information about the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage.

What is Lithium?

Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkaline metal that is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element under normal conditions. Lithium is very reactive and flammable, so it should be kept in a vacuum or under inert gases for safe storage. In nature, lithium does not occur freely, but mainly in pegmatitic minerals and seawater as ions, as wikipedia.org explains.

The industrial use of lithium is extensive and includes applications in heat-resistant glass, as a lubricant in lithium greases, and through use in batteries. Over three quarters of lithium production is used in batteries that power electric cars, among other things. These batteries are in high demand and their production requires safe handling to avoid fires and other hazards.

Safe handling of lithium-ion batteries

After the operation, the fire department issued some important information on the safe use of lithium-ion batteries:

• Nur Original-Ladegeräte verwenden.
• Aufsicht beim Laden der Akkus: Nicht unbeaufsichtigt oder über Nacht laden.
• Feste, nicht brennbare Unterlage nutzen.
• Wärme vermeiden: Akkus nicht in der Sonne oder auf Heizungen lagern.
• Beschädigte Akkus nicht mehr verwenden.
• Lagerung kühl und trocken, idealerweise bei 15-20 °C und getrennt von brennbaren Materialien.

The incidents of recent years show how important it is to take safety seriously when handling lithium-ion batteries. Future developments in lithium production must also aim to use more environmentally friendly methods, as the extraction of lithium can have significant ecological impacts.