Here’s what officials think caused overnight fire at shuttered Columbus battery plant
A fire that likely began while workers were dismantling a conveyor belt Thursday damaged a vacant Columbus battery plant that was under a cleanup plan for contaminants.
Firefighters were called around 7 p.m. to the Exide Technologies building at 3939 Joy Road, where they quickly brought the blaze under control, authorities said.
Fire Marshal John Shull said nine units with the Columbus Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded, and signaled the fire was out and the site secured at 11 p.m. The damage was estimated at $200,000, he said.
Firefighters encountered no contaminants or other hazardous material while they were there, Shull said. “There was some concern of lead because the facility was a battery plant,” he texted the Ledger-Enquirer.
He said investigators suspect the fire began to smolder as workers used an acetylene torch to cut a conveyor belt apart.
According to previous Ledger-Enquirer reporting, Exide Technologies closed the 20-acre plant in 2020, before the Georgia-based battery maker declared bankruptcy. A Delaware court approved a plan that placed money in a trust fund to clean the site.
That cleanup work was proceeding as planned, before Thursday’s fire, said city administrators who were monitoring the project. The city does not own the property.
Deputy City Manager Pam Hodge said Friday that the company managing the work reported it will reassess the cleanup plan in light of the fire damage, and give the city an update.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 11:24 AM.