Lithium battery sparks large fire at New Hanover County landfill

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WWAY) — A lithium battery sparked a large fire at the New Hanover County landfill early Thursday morning, according to county officials.

New Hanover County Fire Rescue responded to the landfill around 3:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call about the fire.

The fire was about 100 feet in diameter and burning on the eastern side of the landfill.

Joe Suleyman, director of the county’s Recycling and Solid Waste Department, said fires at the landfill are not uncommon, but this was the largest one he had seen in some time.

“Something like this where it’s sub-surface, and it’s such a hot intense flame and it’s spreading so quickly, you need to have a good crew there to make sure they contain it first and then extinguish it,” Suleyman said.

After firefighters stopped the flames from spreading, landfill staff covered the burning material with soil to help extinguish the fire.

Fire Rescue cleared the scene around 6 a.m.

Suleyman said a lithium battery caused the fire. He is reminding residents to properly store and dispose of lithium batteries because of the fire risk they can pose.

Residents should place lithium batteries in a metal container and bring them to the landfill for proper disposal, Suleyman said.