Fire at battery storage facility in Czech Nová Paka: firefighters urge residents not to air homes

A battery storage facility is on fire in the town of Nová Paka, near Jičín, which has a population of 9,000. Firefighters are responding at the scene and are advising people in the vicinity of Komenského Street not to air their homes due to the spread of toxic fumes. Experts are measuring concentrations in the air, firefighters said on social network X. Batteries are burning in a container storage unit measuring approximately four by ten metres. No one has been injured. The fire was reported at 13:16, and before 16:00 firefighters said it was no longer spreading.

"We are carrying out firefighting operations and gradually opening the container. The incident commander declared the fire under control at 15:49," firefighters said.

The container holding the fire-affected batteries is located on the premises of a company almost in the centre of the town, with residential buildings nearby. Four fire units are responding at the scene. "The incident site has been cordoned off," firefighters said.

According to regional fire service spokesperson Zuzana Strouhalová, the measurements are being carried out by experts from the Population Protection Institute in Lázně Bohdaneč. "It is a difficult operation; the measurements will take some time," Strouhalová told ČTK.

Firefighters have also deployed the Cobra (Cold Cut System), a high-pressure firefighting and cutting device used to fight fires from the outside. "For firefighting, we used the Cobra system to cool the battery cells through the container shell," firefighters said.