A lockdown advisory for residents in the Montreal’s east end was lifted after a major fire involving lithium batteries was brought under control by firefighters late Monday.
The advisory was issued after a fire broke out at a shipping container holding some 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries around 2:45 p.m. at the Port of Montreal.
The Montreal fire department first reported it was responding to a blaze at 3:15 p.m., with the intervention lasting through the night.
“Due to the amount of energy that these batteries store, it took us quite a while to extinguish the fire,” Matthew Griffith, the fire department’s section chief, said in an interview Tuesday.
“The fire was extinguished around 3 this morning.”
In the early evening, the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve asked residents in the affected area to stay inside and keep their windows closed due to heavy smoke from the blaze. Those within the designated area were also urged to turn off any ventilation as a precaution.
The confinement notice was lifted around 10:30 p.m., with the City of Montreal saying the situation was under control.
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“Although firefighters may need a few more hours to finish their work, tests have confirmed that any danger to public health and safety has been ruled out,” the city wrote on its Facebook page.
Fire officials say more than 100 emergency crews responded to the flames and that about about 100 people were evacuated from the area.
Griffith said a firefighter was treated for a knee injury at the hospital, but was released. No other injuries were reported.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. As of Tuesday morning, a few fire trucks are still at the scene as a precaution.
“Lithium batteries have been known to reignite sometimes hours after they’ve been involved in the fire,” Griffith said. “So just as a precautionary measure, we have a couple of trucks on scene that were supporting the Port of Montreal fire prevention service.”
— with files from Global News Morning, Dan Spector and The Canadian Press
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