Columbus FD offers battery safety tips following post office fire

COLUMBUS — Following a fire at the Columbus Post Office, the Columbus Fire Department is reminding people how to safely dispose of batteries.

The reminder comes after fire crews responded to the Columbus Post Office at 450 Jackson Street on Wednesday for the report of rubbish (trash) fire.

According to the department, firefighters arrived at 8:46 a.m. but employees used a fire extinguisher to put out the smoldering trash before their arrival.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found post office employees had discharged a dry chemical fire extinguisher into a canvas rubbish collection bag.

An investigation found that inside the bag were two 9-volt batteries and a 3-volt lithium battery and one of the 9-volt batteries showed signs of damage consistent with a short circuit.

The battery likely contacted something else that led to a reaction and the fire.

The department sent out a reminder that while any battery can short circuit under the right conditions, 9-volt batteries can be particularly dangerous. If a metal object touches both posts of a 9-volt battery, a short circuit can occur.

Also remember:

• Batteries should never be in a drawer that contains metal items such as paper clips, pens or coins.
• Keep batteries in their original packaging until they are ready for use.
• If discarding alkaline batteries in the trash, cover battery posts with masking tape or electrical tape before discarding.