Lockdown lifted for residents near Port of Montreal after lithium battery fire

A lockdown notice was lifted for someresidentsin the MercierHochelaga-Maisonneuve borough late Monday night after a fire involving thousands of kilograms of lithium batteries atthe Port of Montreal was extinguished.

Residents in sectors adjacent to the port, between Vimont Street, Hochelaga Street, Haig Avenue and the St.Lawrence River, wereadvised 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 tobecut in the area, affecting customers as far as one kilometre from the fire, whichbroke out around 2:40 p.m.

Around 10:30 p.m., the city confirmedthe preventativelockdown 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 chiefwith the Montrealfireservice,said there were 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries inside theshipping 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

Guilbaultsaidfirefighters spent hours trying to cool down the container and needed help fromtheir colleagues at the airport who have a special drill that was able to pierce the containerso they could hose down the batteries inside.

Onefirefighter suffered minor injuries to the knee but no one else was hurt.

Guilbaultsaidin 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 outnear the intersection of Bossuet 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.