Lithium battery fire at Camp Pendleton is third in two years

Roughly 500 lithium batteries caught fire in a storeroom at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base last week, according to an incident report filed with the National Response Center (NRC). 

This is the third incident involving lithium batteries at the base in the last two years. Last April, a 55-gallon drum of batteries began to emit gas and smoke, requiring fire department response. In November, another 55-gallon drum “vented, heated then reacted and caught on fire,” according to a NRC report. In the latest case, the fire started in a battery room, activating a fire-suppression system that resulted in the release of between 500 and 1,000 gallons of tainted water into storm drains. In all three cases, employees within a quarter-mile were evacuated.   

Base officials say Marine command is investigating the June 14 incident. In an emailed statement to CityBeat, they write:

 The Camp Pendleton Fire Department responded to and extinguished a structural fire aboard the base which had started in a room used to store lithium batteries, June 14. Camp Pendleton notified the National Response Center of the incident due to possible contamination of water used to put out the fire.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.  Future preventative measures will be learned upon completion of the investigation.

Base staff did not disclose what the batteries are used for or the results of the clean-up. So, instead, we provide this classic Nirvana video:

Marshall Murphy contributed to this report.