Lithium Ion Battery suspected cause of Rubbish Truck fire in Woollahra

A rubbish truck has been destroyed following a suspected lithium ion battery fire / explosion in Bellevue Hill at 7.00am this morning.

The council worker had driven the work truck towards Cooper Park after he noticed his truck had smoke coming from the back. The driver managed to isolate the vehicle from residential properties as the fire and smoke quickly increased in intensity.

Fire Fighters across Sydney's Metro Area responded through the morning due to the difficult access.

The council workers attempted to dump the load, however flames had impacted the hydraulics.

The complex fire fighting operation took almost 5 hours to conclude.

Woollahra said in a statement:
This incident is an important reminder for the public to ensure they do not dispose of batteries of any kind in household bins, as they contain toxic materials that can pose a fire hazard if they get damaged or overheat.
We recommend battery disposal be done via our regular Recycle it Saturday events: www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/Services/Rubbish-and-recycling/Problem-waste-drop-off
Household batteries can also be dropped off at our libraries in Double Bay and Paddington, and household, e-bike and car batteries at Randwick Council Recycling Centre in Matraville.

An image was captured at 4.18pm by contributor Lyn Fredinger showing a large battery that may have been the cause of today's fire.
Images: OnScene Bondi & Lyn Fredinger