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    • Fire breaks out in southeast Missouri at one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery facilities • Missouri Independent
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    Fire breaks out in southeast Missouri at one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery facilities • Missouri Independent

    Online Niel Posted on

    Residents of a southeast Missouri town were forced to evacuate their homes Wednesday when a fire broke out at a nearby battery recycler.

    Madison County 911 posted on Facebook around 2 p.m., on behalf of the county sheriff’s office, telling residents north and west of Fredericktown to leave the area.

    “If you can see or smell smoke in this area, you must evacuate!” the post says.

    In a separate post later this afternoonMadison County 911 and the Fredericktown Fire Department said only residents on Madison County Road 277 need to be evacuated. The county urged other residents to shelter in place. The post said the city of Fredericktown was unaffected by the order.

    “Close windows, doors and turn off window air conditioners,” the post said. “…Again, if you see smoke, stay indoors.”

    Around 7:45 p.m., an emergency dispatcher told The Independent crews were still battling the fire.

    Smoke billows from the roof of Critical Mineral Recovery’s lithium-ion battery recycling plant near Fredericktown, Missouri. The plant caught fire Wednesday, forcing evacuations (Madison County 911).

    Photos posted to Facebook by Madison County 911 shows Critical Mineral Recovery, one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery processing facilities, with a hole in the partially collapsed roof. Smoke billowed from the charred building and a faint glow of fire could be seen inside.

    According to the company’s website, the plant processes lithium-ion batteries for electric and consumer vehicles and takes in valuable metals and minerals, including copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese and aluminum. Recycled materials can be used to build new batteries.

    The fire broke out despite what the company’s website calls “probably the world’s most sophisticated automated and monitored and remotely controlled fire suppression systems.”

    “The state-of-the-art fire prevention system is designed to detect fires before they start,” says the company’s website. “The system covers all areas where battery materials are stored or processed. It is remotely monitored 24/7 using industrial-grade… high-intensity infrared camera technology.”

    County officials, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

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