900 tons of lithium batteries caught fire in fire

A major fire took place on Saturday February 17 afternoon in an annex of the Snam (New Metal Refining Company) industrial site in the town of Viviez, in Aveyron. The company recycles lithium batteries. In the building, 900 tonnes of batteries caught fire as well as the 3,000 m2 of warehouse where they were stored.

The fire is now under control but the firefighters’ intervention must last all night. No injuries were reported. As a precaution, populations located within a radius of 500 meters were asked to remain confined.

Around 70 firefighters are on site

At the start of the evening, they were all able to leave their homes, indicates Colonel Mickaël Lecoq, departmental director of fire and rescue for Aveyron. “The fire is contained to its perimeter and no longer threatens, it will take a long time to be extinguished but no longer represents a risk for the population nor for the environment nor for surrounding businesses”, he specifies. Measurements of smoke toxicity carried out throughout the day “made it possible to eliminate any risk for the population and for the firefighters”he adds.

Around 70 firefighters are on site, specifies France Bleu Occitanie. Emergency services specializing in chemical risks from Haute-Garonne are also present as well as law enforcement and the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL). The Marseille firefighters must also arrive on site in order to take new measurements on the smoke.

A road diversion has been put in place to allow bypass of the site, departmental road 5 is closed.