FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. — Residents near a battery recycling facility just outside Fredericktown, Missouri, were evacuated Wednesday after a fire broke out at the plant that afternoon.
There were no reported injuries, officials said.
Smoke could be seen rising from Critical Mineral Recovery on Highway OO, a company that recycles lithium-ion batteries and related materials. Madison County's emergency dispatch service said residents north and northwest of Village Creek Road and Madison 217 needed to evacuate immediately. The evacuation order did not affect the city of Fredericktown.
Anyone within the smoke plume, which wind was carrying north of the fire, was urged to shelter in place indoors by closing windows and doors and turning off air conditioning.
Madison County Sheriff Katy McCutcheon said the call first came in at 1:37 p.m. and the fire had been mostly contained as of Wednesday evening. All of Route 72 was shut down from the Highway OO bypass to Lincoln Drive to keep the traffic out of the area so firetrucks could shuttle water.
"We were told by plant operations managers that they're not concerned with the smoke. But it's heavy enough that people do need to evacuate," she said.
All roads near the plant were reopened by Thursday morning.
Fredericktown Mayor Travis Parker said while the facility is technically outside city limits, it is in their fire district.
"So the facility had fire suppression inside, they also had a large vessel on the property for emergency use such as this. Unfortunately, we needed more water than what was available. So we’re continuing to truck in loads of water from within the county as well as the city's water system," Parker said.
McCutcheon thanked local agencies, including at least 25 fire departments, that came to the scene to help get the fire under control.
Al Watkins, lawyer for the facility's parent company, Interco, said 75 employees were evacuated safely after the fire started and that there were no injuries.
The fire was contained, Watkins said, and its cause was not yet determined.
“You have fires and proximity of fire lithium ion batteries, you have risks of explosion of those batteries, especially those that are new battery material, and that’s what you have here," Watkins said.
Silvermines General Baptist Church, located at 3874 Highway D, was opening its doors to any evacuees who needed a place to go. The back of the Madison County Health Department at 105 Armory St. was also open to evacuees.
All Fredericktown R-1 school campuses remaining indoors Wednesday afternoon, the district said, adding that if any parent chooses to pick up their child from school, it will not count against their attendance. The district said school will be in session Thursday.
Fredricktown School District Assistant Superintendent Melanie Allen said the schools did not need to evacuate because the wind was carrying smoke from the fire away from the campus.
The 225,000-square-foot recycling facility is one of the largest lithium-ion battery processing facilities in the world, according to its website, with the capacity to process more than 60,000 tons of batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are difficult to extinguish, can generate toxic gasses and carry a risk of exploding or reigniting, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources confirmed a crew was heading to the scene to monitor air quality, any potential water runoff exposure and other environmental concerns. DNR said it would consult with local officials on cleanup.
Scott Bates and his family were at Silvermines General Baptist Church waiting out the evacuation order. He said a parishioner called him to tell the news as he was coming home from Farmington.
“My first thought was to call my wife and get the kids and get out of there. It was unsettling,” Bates said.
He and his wife quickly gathered their four kids and left their home.
“At that point, my phone just began to chime in with lots of text messages from various people. Our entire neighborhood was told to evacuate,” Bates said.
Thirteen-year-old Freedom Bates said she passed the time with her two brothers by eating junk food and playing on their phones and other devices. Their youngest sibling entertained herself with a coloring book.
"We do everything together, you know. We go to church here, so being together is one of my favorite things to do, especially during a time like this,” Freedom said.
After three hours, the family counted their blessings, and they couldn't wait to pack up and return home.
“I’m very thankful that nobody’s injured or hurt. Some of my friends’ family members work in the building where that fire happened," Freedom said.
“It’s a relief," Scott Bates said. "A lot of uncertainty, but knowing at the end of the day that everything turned out alright minus the loss of a building, it’s just good to know that we can now go back home."
According to the 2022 U.S. Census, about 4,400 people live in Fredericktown.
Mayor Parker said this is a big loss for their community but they are strong.
"It’s going to affect several families in our community. They employed a lot of citizens, not just in Fredericktown, but our neighboring community here in Junction City where they are located and obviously Madison County," Parker said.
He said the damage is extensive from heavy fire and it's unclear if any of the fairly new facility can be saved as small explosions and heavy smoke consumed the property for hours.
They were fighting the fire into the night on Wednesday using every tool possible including drones and ladder trucks.
