Staffordshire Fire chief issues battery warning
Staffordshire’s top firefighter is calling on the public to dispose of batteries properly, following a spate of waste fires in the county.
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Chief Fire Officer Rob Barber says that lithium-ion batteries are to blame for an increasing number of fires involving landfill sites and bin lorries.
A major fire at Walleys Quarry landfill site in Silverdale in August, which took two days to extinguish, was probably caused by a battery.
Batteries should always be taken to a recycling centre or a collection point at a supermarket, rather than being thrown into a domestic waste bin.
Mr Barber voiced his concerns over the increasing threat posed by batteries at Staffordshire Commissioner’s latest public performance meeting.
He welcomed a national ban on disposable vapes set to come into force next June, but explained that there were many other household items that could potentially cause problems if not disposed of correctly.
Mr Barber said: “If you look around your house at how many lithium-ion batteries there are, and people aren’t disposing of them in the right way. They’re throwing them into the domestic waste.
“An electric toothbrush has a lithium-ion cell in there, which can get crushed after you throw it away, and all of a sudden we have a huge waste site fire.
"We’re also seeing an increase in waste lorry fires as well, which are very difficult to deal with and can cause chaos in the local environment, with all the roads shut.
“In Staffordshire we’ve seen significant waste fires that have gone on for many months because they’re so difficult to deal with.
"That has a huge impact on local communities and people’s health and wellbeing.”
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service will be repeating its ‘Buy Safe, Charge Safe’ campaign in the run-up to Christmas, in order to raise awareness of the risks posed by unregulated and counterfeit electrical goods such as scooters and e-bikes.
Mr Barber said: “The message coming up to the Christmas period is that cheaper isn’t always best.
"You might think that it’s a bargain as you’ve got a scooter a little bit cheaper, but if it takes out the whole of your house, it’s a very expensive gift.”
