A lockdown notice was lifted for some residents in the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough late Monday night after a fire involving thousands of kilograms of lithium batteries at the Port of Montreal was extinguished.
Residents in sectors adjacent to the port, between Vimont Street, Hochelaga Street, Haig Avenue and the St. Lawrence River, were advised to stay indoors and close doors, windows and ventilation systems for their health and safety.
At least 100 people living close to the fire were evacuated from their homes. Electricity had to be cut in the area, affecting customers as far as one kilometre from the fire, which broke out around 2:40 p.m.
Around 10:30 p.m., the city confirmed the preventative lockdown advisory had been lifted and that the air was safe for residents. Power was restored and people were allowed to return to their homes.
Martin Guilbault, division chief with the Montreal fire service, said there were 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries inside the shipping container that caught fire.
He said once a lithium battery catches fire, it can easily cause a chain reaction.
“That’s what they call a thermal runaway and that’s what happens when lithium batteries are burning, so that’s what happened yesterday.”
Rising lithium battery use boosts fire risks
Guilbault said firefighters spent hours trying to cool down the container and needed help from their colleagues at the airport who have a special drill that was able to pierce the container so they could hose down the batteries inside.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries to the knee but no one else was hurt.
Guilbault said in his 32-year career, he has never encountered anything like this before, and he suspects that more lithium battery fires may occur in the future.
“I would say that every fire department on the planet is concerned about that. You know that lithium batteries are getting in the market more and more right now so these kinds of incidents may occur much more often in years to come.
The fire broke out near the intersection of Bousset Avenue and Notre-Dame Street. Notre-Dame was blocked in both directions but reopened to traffic late Monday.
An investigation into what caused the fire is still underway.