Morris fire chief: ‘We made a lot of progress today’

MORRIS — The lithium battery fire that continues to burn at 919 E. Benton St. in Morris is much closer to being extinguished, Morris Fire Protection and Ambulance District Chief Tracey Steffes said Friday.

Steffes said that crews tore down part of an exterior wall Friday in order to gain access to more of the batteries still inside the building.

“The temperature went down from around 400 degrees to about 105 degrees,” Steffes said. “We put some more of the Portland cement on it and there is no smoke and no flames. We made a lot of progress today. If it’s still contained like that Saturday at 6 a.m., we will no longer have to have an engine there.”

Steffes said that the work they had planned for Saturday has been postponed due to the progress made Friday.

“It’s still not totally extinguished,” he said. “We can’t get in there and move the batteries yet, because there are some of them that might still ignite if they are bothered. The expert we have been talking to said that, even though they are not burning, they are in a volatile state and just about anything could set them off. That’s why we didn’t use water and used the Portland cement.”

Steffes will meet with the media Saturday morning and give a further update.