Four Fires in One Week: Mecklenburg County Faces Lithium Battery Problem

Last week, waste sites across Mecklenburg County caught fire four times. The cause? Tossed-out lithium-ion batteries. Now, local leaders want the public to know about the risks.

The Materials Recovery Facility on Amble Drive saw two blazes. The site, which handles tons of recycling daily, caught fire when staff crushed medical gear. A hidden battery sparked the flames.

"They blend in," said Jeff Smithberger, Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Director, to WSOC-TV. "They are generally gray or black in color. They look like the rest of the recycling materials that come to us."

At Foxhole Landfill, Monday brought double trouble. First, at 11:45 a.m., staff rushed to douse flames from a massive car battery. Hours later, someone's attempt to protect private data by smashing an iPad turned into another emergency.

A fourth blaze forced a full site evacuation at a paper storage area. The sprinklers kicked in while fire crews raced to the scene. Work stopped for four hours.

Monthly, about eight fires start from batteries at these sites. While heat sensors catch many problems, some batteries hide in recycling piles, smoldering unseen.

"It's dangerous, and we want people to understand those inherent dangers and to just take care of them the right way the first time so that we don't have to worry about this," Smithberger said.

These power cells lurk in everyday items: phones, tablets, tools, and vehicles. When damaged or exposed to air, they can burst into flames without warning.

Want to get rid of old batteries? The county runs four special centers for safe disposal. Never mix them with regular trash or recycling.

The first Monday crisis struck at 11:45 a.m. Three workers fought back the flames. By mid-afternoon, quick action with a fire blanket stopped the iPad incident. Evening brought one more scare when a loader operator spotted a burning device.

The latest fire hit the paper storage section hard. Water rained down from triggered sprinklers as work ground to a halt. After the chaos, crews fixed the sprinkler system.

Check the county's waste site or ask staff directly about proper battery disposal methods.