BATTERY fires were a concern for the Shire of Chittering council upon receiving their work health and safety statistics report for February.
During discussions about the Shire of Chittering’s work health and safety report, Councillor John Curtis asked how to combat the prevalence of fires at the shire’s landfills.
Muchea Landfill experienced their most recent fire on February 8, according to the report.
Cr Curtis said he noticed the Muchea Landfill site had become an area of focus due to the frequency of fires.
“There had been a couple of fires down at the Muchea tip,” he said.
“I wonder how serious they were.”
Shire of Chittering chief executive officer Melinda Prinsloo said the shire had two fires, with one flaring up again.
“They were all in single cells of our tip, so it didn’t spread very widely, and we suspect it was due to lithium batteries – small ones that would be in a vape or something,” she said.
“Because they don’t stop burning until it’s all burnt out, it sets the rubble in the area alight.
“However, they were put out quite easily by having the compactor run over them, but some of them reignited later.”
Ms Prinsloo said the fire was not widespread, and where the fire was burning larger, air tests were done to ensure the nearby residents weren’t at risk at all through air pollution.
“(No) big fires and they were still contained, so not a big issue for us,” she said.
Cr Curtis said it seemed a lot of fires had occurred at the tips from batteries and asked if any safety measures could be taken.
“It seems there’s a fire every month,” he said.
Ms Prinsloo said the battery fire issue would go on for a while.
“The best thing we can do is education, and we will continue to educate the community through Facebook posts and sharing information as to what these small batteries, even if they’re very little, can cause,” she said.
The council voted unanimously to accept the work health and safety report.
For residents, battery disposal locations closest to them may be found on the Recycle Right website.
