A homemade battery pack exploded Friday evening causing a chemical fire in a unit at the Wy’East Pointe Apartments in Vancouver, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.
The fire was reported about 6:45 p.m. at 812 S.E. 136th Ave., in building F. The caller said he was making a battery pack for his skateboard when it exploded. He was evacuating neighbors but said the fire was largely out, according to radio traffic.
Arriving fire crews with the Vancouver Fire Department heard a fire alarm, and saw light smoke coming from the second and third floors at the front of the building. They said sprinklers were going off on the second floor, according to radio traffic. Firefighters requested the water be turned off, because it was a chemical fire. They used dry chemical fire extinguisher to smother the blaze.
Fire personnel were also checking bystanders to see if anyone inhaled or got chemicals on them, according to radio traffic.
