A LARGE firefighting operation was mounted in the Bratton area of Minehead when a bin lorry caught fire on Tuesday, June 23.

Mixed in with the domestic material collected earlier in the town was found a lithium ion battery from a power tool.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFR) mobilised both fire crews from the Minehead station, a water carrier from Bridgwater, and support officers to attend the incident.

The collection crew took swift action and released enough waste from the back of the lorry to expose the seat of the fire.

The firefighters used thermal imaging equipment along with a hose reel jet and discovered the power tool Li-Ion battery mixed in with the domestic waste.

A DSFR spokesperson said the ‘careless and dangerous disposal’ of the battery created a high risk of ‘thermal runaway’, and to make matters worse, it had been disposed of in a bag containing an old butane aerosol can, old expanding foam cans, and waste foam.

The spokesperson said: “Fortunately, the fire did not take hold enough to cause the cans to explode.

“But, these careless actions not only increase the risk of fire and the subsequent environmental damage, but also put the waste collection crews at risk along with fire crews who tackle the fires.

“Batteries should not be disposed of in mixed waste.

“They should be disposed of in accordance with local waste collection rules.

“Batteries can be disposed of using the legitimate process in the recycling collections where they are segregated and then managed accordingly at the waste transfer sites.”

The spokesperson said it was not suggested the battery had been disposed of by a resident in Bratton.

They said the lorry had been collecting waste from different areas of the town and had just arrived to start work in Bratton when the fire broke out.