Fire at Missouri battery plant causes evacuations

MADISON COUNTY, Mo. — A fire at the Critical Mineral Recovery battery recycling plant in Fredericktown has caused residents to evacuate, Wednesday. Several area fire departments are working to battle the blaze.

Madison County 911 dispatch received the call around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to Kyle Rogers, 911 direction. The Department of Public Safety's Division of Fire Safety and several tanker strike teams also are responding to fire.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has urged everyone north and northwest of Village Creek Road and Madison 217 to evacuate immediately. The 225,000-square-foot processing plant is located in the 800 block of Highway OO.

The Fredericktown Fire Department has urged residents to shelter-in-place indoors if they are in the smoke plum caused by the plant fire. The department says to close windows, doors, and turn off window AC systems.

The city of Fredericktown currently is not affected by this order.

Smoke is moving north of the fire, according to the Fredericktown Fire Department, and will continue in that director until Thursday after 5 a.m. or 6 a.m.

More than 15 fire departments are responding to the fire, from Jefferson County all the way to Cape County, Bollinger County, St. Francois County, Iron County, among other departments coming from the south, according to Rogers.

Fredericktown R-1 Schools announced that parents can pick up their children due to the fire and it will not count against their attendance.

Silvermines General Baptist Church on D Highway has opened its doors to anyone in need of a place during the evacuation, according to Madison County 911.

Critical Mineral Recovery is one of the largest lithium-ion battery processing facilities in the world, according to company's website. The plant has the capacity to process more than 60,000 tons of electric vehicle and consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries.

The story will be updated as more information becomes available.