Major fire in Friedland: Fire brigade fights flames for hours!

Major fire in Friedland: Fire brigade fights flames for hours!

On Monday afternoon, shortly after 4 p.m., a devastating fire broke out in a warehouse at the Friedland “Environment Plasma” recycling center, which kept the fire department in suspense for several hours. Around 80 firefighters were mobilized to fight the flames and bring the situation under control. The emergency services' quick reaction prevented anything worse from happening, but one employee was taken to Neubrandenburg Hospital with suspected smoke poisoning. Two other employees, a 41-year-old and a 22-year-old, also had health problems; the older one sought medical treatment on his own, while the younger one refused medical help. The property damage is estimated at around 100,000 euros, and the criminal police have started an investigation into negligent arson. A fire investigator was called in to assist.

There had already been repeated fires on the recycling center site, often caused by improper disposal of batteries and accumulators. Operations manager Stephan Drews urgently warned the population to keep windows and doors closed to protect themselves from smoke. At the same time, he appealed to citizens to dispose of batteries and accumulators properly instead of throwing them away with household waste. This is a point of criticism that experts like bvse also share. According to ifat.de, better technical labeling of batteries and old battery-operated devices is proposed in order to avoid such incidents in the future.

Correct disposal of batteries and accumulators

In addition, it is important to know that the crossed-out garbage can symbol on batteries and accumulators makes it clear that they do not belong in the residual waste container. According to remondis.de, up to five device batteries per person are incorrectly disposed of in residual waste or in packaging every year. The experts are therefore calling for increased educational measures on proper disposal. Used batteries and accumulators must be handed over to retailers or to municipal collection points such as recycling centers or mobile pollutants.

The current fire incident in Friedland illustrates the urgency of this clarification. Only by acting correctly when disposing of hazardous waste can we prevent similar incidents in the future. The circulating discourse about developing safer alternatives, such as solid-state batteries, which have a lower fire risk, is becoming increasingly louder among industry experts. These batteries, which use non-flammable ceramics, can improve the safety situation in the field of battery disposal in the long term.