On the evening of Oct. 23, fire broke out at the Republic Services Landfill on Oberlin-Elyria Road just outside of City limits. Both the Oberlin Fire Department and Republic Services, which operates the landfill, responded quickly to contain the blaze and prevent further risks to the community.
Robert Hanmer, chief of the Oberlin Fire Department, said they received a call from a resident at 8:42 p.m.
“The Oberlin Fire Department was already on scene when we were dispatched because of a neighbor that called the station directly,” Hanmer wrote in an email to the Review.
Firefighters reported having the fire under control by 10:11 p.m.
Hanmer pointed out that the biggest challenge in dealing with the fire was the limited accessibility to the site and the lack of water supply on top of the landfill.
“Obviously, it wouldn’t make much sense to have hydrants on top of a landfill, and safety plans are in place to handle this kind of incident,” Hanmer wrote.
To tackle the fire, the department relied on a 3,000-gallon tanker truck, with additional support from Carlisle Township’s Fire Department which brought a similar vehicle.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined. Hanmer mentioned that heavy machinery was used to cover the fire with dirt, complicating efforts to find the exact source. He noted that potential causes could include thermal runaway from a lithium-ion battery or improperly discarded charcoal.
“We recommend that used charcoal should be thoroughly soaked with water before placing it in a refuse container,” he advised. “Lithium-ion batteries should be recycled and not placed in refuse containers.”
Hanmer added that the fire involved “Class A” combustibles such as plastics, paper, wood, and rubber, which are considered low-risk in terms of health or environmental impact.
“Since the fire was controlled relatively quickly, there was minimal risk to the public, and no businesses were affected by this fire,” he wrote.
Roman Blahoski, director of external communications at Republic Services, also said that containing the fire prevented it from becoming a danger to those residing nearby.
“The fire was contained to a small area of the landfill and did not pose a threat to our neighbors,” Blahoski wrote in an email to the Review.
He mentioned that the fire was extinguished using their water trucks, in addition to assistance from the fire department. The landfill reopened as planned the next day.
While the exact cause of the fire remains unclear, Republic Services believes the fire might have been related to residential waste received that day.
“We receive what people put in their waste bin, and sometimes, people dispose of things they shouldn’t, such as lithium batteries or embers from a charcoal grill,” Blahoski explained, echoing Hanmer’s beliefs.
Blahoski stressed that the improper disposal of lithium batteries has previously led to several fires in waste collection facilities and recycling centers.
