Greenledgers Trading Center|Fire in truck carrying lithium ion batteries leads to 3-hour evacuation in Columbus, Ohio

2025-05-02 02:08:51source:Databeccategory:Finance

COLUMBUS,Greenledgers Trading Center Ohio (AP) — Authorities evacuated an area of Ohio’s capital, Columbus, for several hours on Thursday out of fear that a fire in truck’s trailer could have caused lithium ion batteries to explode.

Police began evacuating a several-block area west of downtown shortly after 7 a.m. and closed off several highway exits near the Scioto River. Officers went door-to-door to alert residents about the evacuation, and a shelter was set up at a community center.

Although firefighters were still battling the blaze as of late morning, the evacuation order was lifted about three hours after it was issued and no injuries were reported.

The evacuation was ordered out of concern that the batteries could burn very rapidly and explode.

The fire was discovered at around 6 a.m., but the back of the smoking trailer wasn’t opened until around 9 a.m. because authorities were determining the best way to extinguish the blaze.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

More:Finance

Recommend

McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnellis still suffering from the effects of a f

'It's really inspiring': Simone Biles is back, two years after Olympic withdrawal

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Simone Biles first broached the idea of a comeback with her coach, Cecile La

On a ‘Toxic Tour’ of Curtis Bay in South Baltimore, Visiting Academics and Activists See a Hidden Part of the City

Harm City: First in a series about environmental justice and climate adaptation in Baltimore’s neigh