Overview
- A roughly 10-by-10-meter, 15-meter-high scrap pile at a metal and scrap wholesaler in Essen caught fire on Friday, producing heavy smoke that triggered an early-morning population warning.
- Fire crews used excavators to dismantle the burning heap, doused hotspots with firefighting foam, and declared the situation largely under control by midday after hours of work.
- Emergency responders reported minor injuries including a digger operator with circulatory problems and a firefighter with mild eye irritation as the site cooled.
- Police have opened a criminal investigation and say there is no evidence so far of deliberate arson while they collect traces; investigators consider self-ignition of damaged lithium batteries a plausible cause pending lab results.
- Officials closed nearby kindergartens as a precaution and ordered air and deposition sampling, reflecting wider industry concerns that discarded e-bike, phone and vaping batteries increase fire risk at urban scrap sites.