Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters tackled a fire at a refuse depot on Coldharbour Lane in Rainham.
A large pile of household waste was destroyed by fire. There were no reports of any injuries.
The most likely cause for the fire is believed to be the catastrophic failure of a lithium-ion battery.
Lithium batteries store a significant amount of energy in a very small space and are much more powerful compared to other types of batteries. If that energy is released in an uncontrolled way, then a fire or explosion may result. If there is overheating, crushing, penetrating or overcharging, then a fault can occur within damaged battery cells which may cause the battery to catch fire and/or explode.
These types of fires are ferocious, shooting out jets and can be extremely hard to extinguish. The public should never try and tackle a lithium battery fire and should get away from one as quickly and as safely as possible.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Lithium-ion battery fires are a major risk. We’ve seen a growing number of fires at waste disposal sites that are believed to have been caused by a lithium battery.
"Although lithium-ion battery products that have been built to a poor standard are a higher fire risk, any battery is at risk of exploding and catching fire if it has been crushed or becomes damaged. Fires that we attend at sites like recycling centres and scrap yards can be very time consuming for our firefighters and often require a high level of resources to put the fire out. We’ve also seen the detrimental environmental and societal impact these fires can have on local communities.
"Lithium batteries and electricals with hidden lithium-ion batteries should not be placed in the same bins as your regular rubbish or recycling. Instead, check with the retailer or your local authority's website for the safest way to dispose of lithium-ion batteries in your area and reduce the risk of fires occurring."
The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers received two calls about the fire. The Brigade was first called at 2003 and officers mobilised crews from Wennington, Barking, Dagenham and Hainault fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control by 2142.