Recylcing Burns in Berlin
Local fire brigades were called in to help the Tesla’s GigaBerlin fire teams extinguish a blaze early Monday morning.
No one was injured, but over 800 cubic meters of cardboard, paper and wood scraps - which had been in an outdoor recycling area - went up in a spectacular fire.
It ended up taking 50 firefighters and a couple hours to get under control. Anyone who’s ever seen a compacted cube of cardboard burning will know those things can burn and smoulder for quite some time. But once the local backup arrived, the fire was quickly contained to the recycling area.
Looking at the factory layout, the main facility was never really in danger. One of the reasons the recycling area is outside and a safe distance from any buildings is because things like compressed cardboard and paper are very flammable. In fact, Tesla has had cardboard fires at other factories before - like the one at the Fremont, California facility in early February.
Despite the quick and safe response - and lack of injury or damages - some community groups are calling for the factory to be closed.
The heavily scrutinised factory has held a few public information events since its grand opening, but local environmental groups have never really warmed to the idea of having such a huge industrial facility in their backyards.
One group in particular - the Citizens’ Initiative Grünheide [Groon-hide-uh] - has been calling for Tesla’s production permit to be revoked since last year, when a paint leak was reported at the gigafactory. And they’re the calm group.
In May 2021, a local group called the “Volcanic Group” sabotaged the GigaBerlin construction site by burning some cables that provided power. The people in Brandenburg are very environmentally protective.
It’s understandable to be vigilant with industrial accidents and waste disposal - especially when we’re starting to see a lot of global disasters spurred by climate change. But a fire in some compressed cardboard in an outdoor lot is not a cause for environmental worries. At least not until an investigation can figure out how the blaze started; in an area with groups known for industrial sabotage.
Until then, let’s take a breath, yeah?