A rash of garbage fires this year outside Rock Springs that a landfill manager linked to lithium-ion batteries foreshadow the potential for large-scale disasters, concerned public officials say.
There have been six fires at the Rock Springs Landfill in the past year, all attributed to lithium-ion batteries bursting into flames, Dan Chetterbock, general manager of the landfill, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.
That includes two this past winter and four in the spring and summer.
“It’s a big spike,” Chetterbock said. “It’s just been a problem starting this year. It’s really taken off – and I’ve noticed in the waste industry and in the recycle industry too, it’s just becoming a bigger and bigger problem.”
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are prolific. They’re in cellphones, laptops and electric power tools, to name a few devices.
One of the fires flared during the day on June 26. The other one started the evening of July 2, said Chetterbock. Fire personnel and a local construction company both responded, to isolate the blazes and line them with dirt, he added.
The July 2 fire came close to threatening a bulldozer, a tarp-laying machine and the tarps on it, he said.
The equipment together is worth around $2 million and was bought with taxpayer money, Chetterbock added.
The batteries’ “thermal runaway” fires are tricky, because it takes an inordinate amount of water to extinguish them. It’s common practice to cordon them and let them burn instead of trying to douse them, he said.
The fires even survive being smothered, he said, adding, “It’s an extremely violent, chemical fire.”
Catastrophically
Rock Springs Fire Department B-Shift Battalion Chief Lance East spoke of that difficulty in his own interview.
East also serves on the Lithium-Ion technical committee for the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
He said two schools of thought on fighting thermal runaway fires prevail: bringing massive quantities of water to douse them; or keeping people and property away from the fires and letting them burn.
The water solution converts the scene to a haz-mat incident, said East, since chemicals infiltrate the water used to fight the blaze.
Lithium-ion batteries are usually great, said East, “but when they fail, they fail catastrophically.”
If one of the tiny cells within a battery overheats, so too do all the cells in its vicinity and so on, leading to a rapid fire that can reach up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.
They survive smothering because they “actually create their own oxygen” during the burn, East added.
Why Do We Care?
East has been working with other officials and with Rocky Mountain Power personnel to create a plan for what to do if a Tesla or other electric car battery bursts into flame in Sweetwater County, he said.
It can take more than 20,000 gallons of water to extinguish a blazing Tesla battery for example, while a typical fire involving an internal combustion car can often be quickly put out with approximately 300 gallons of water, NBC News reported in 2021.
The county contains multiple electric vehicle charging stations; so if a battery ignites while plugged into one of those, it could compromise the charging station as well.
“A lot of different companies build those charging stations, and trying to get ahold of them individually isn’t an easy feat,” said East, adding that they often keep their control areas locked up – even from fire personnel.
That’s why having Rocky Mountain Power officials prepared to shut down swaths of the grid may be key, he said.
Thermal runaway unfolds in a matter of seconds, East emphasized.
“This is a pretty involved issue. It’s worldwide,” he said. “Big cities are dealing with it and they primarily have most of the issues – but it’s finally trickling down to the rural areas.”
The Hoverboards
East won’t let his kids charge their hoverboards in the house, he said.
That’s because the Rock Springs Fire Department has responded to at least two structure fires in which hoverboards were found to be the cause.
Rock Springs Fire Chief Jim Wamsley told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that one of those fires was in July of 2020, and another was in November of that same year.
In both cases, hoverboard batteries were being re-charged.
In the November fire, a child had stayed home sick; and when the smoke alarm woke him, he had to crawl out the basement window to escape.
A police officer who was driving by called in the fire, Wamsley said.
What You Do Instead
Wamsley said people using lithium-ion batteries should make sure to buy a “quality product” for which the underwriters’ laboratories have acknowledged they’ve tested the product for safe consumer use.
People should also charge their batteries away from combustible materials.
“If you do encounter a fire, get out of the home and call 911 first,” he said.
East cautioned people to avoid using aftermarket or other off-brand charging cables not made for the device. People should not keep their charging devices near their heads or in their bedding when they’re sleeping, he said.
They can “release toxic gases” and pose other hazards, he said.
Chetterbock emphasized disposing of lithium-ion batteries via a designated recycling site.
“We offer free recycling of lithium-ion batteries out here at the landfill,” he said, adding that people need to “just report them.”
The service puts the batteries into a barrel, pours a confining substance on them and either restores them or sends them to other companies that can.
Other tips on a National Fire Protection Association webpage East highlighted say not to overcharge devices; to unplug a device once it’s fully charged; and not to throw the batteries in the trash.
Those Nets Though
Scott Kitchener, Sweetwater Fire District 1 Chief, confirmed that his department has responded to multiple fires at the landfill this summer, though he said he couldn’t confirm whether those were due to lithium-ion batteries.
Unless foul play is suspected or property besides garbage harmed, the department tends not to investigate fire causes at the dump, since it’s “just garbage,” he said.
Another, separate concern Kitchener’s department has, however, is with the nets landfill personnel use to cover the land-bound garbage at night. Those are combustible, whereas dirt is not, the chief noted.
Chetterbock did not respond to a later, follow-up text message request for a comment on that.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
