A container of lithium batteries catches fire in Ariège

Fireman (photo illustration).

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The firefighters took out their equipment to fight against chemical risks on Tuesday in Ariège.

A fire indeed broke out, around 9:30 am, "in a container housing lithium batteries", located in the town of Perles-et-Castelet, not far from Ax-les-Thermes.

According to the prefecture, this incident mobilized, in addition to specialized firefighters, gendarmes, technical teams from the Electricity Transport Network (RTE) and agents from the Departmental Directorate of the Environment.

No air pollution

“As a precautionary measure, four people residing in the nearest house were evacuated and relocated,” state services indicate.

Road traffic on the road adjacent to the fire - the RD719 - even had to be stopped.

The prefecture wants to be reassuring: "The air quality measurements which were carried out did not detect any atmospheric pollution", she specifies.

Tuesday afternoon, however, she invited residents "to avoid any physical activity within a radius of 100 meters around the disaster".

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• Fire

• Miscellaneous

• Firefighters

• Chemical products