ALACHUA – Firefighters contained and extinguished a difficult battery-related fire Sunday afternoon at an Alachua business after a Tesla battery pack ignited inside a shipping container.
Crews from Alachua County Fire Rescue were dispatched at approximately 1:25 p.m. on May 24, 2026, to a reported commercial structure fire at Black Flag Metalsmith, located at 13290 N.W. County Road 325.
When firefighters arrived, they found a shipping container engulfed in flames and moved quickly to keep the fire from spreading to nearby structures and surrounding property.
Officials later determined that a Tesla battery pack had caught fire inside the container.
Battery fires involving lithium-ion technology can present additional challenges for emergency crews because the cells can continue generating heat and may reignite after initial flames are knocked down. Fire officials said the battery pack fire proved difficult to extinguish, but crews were ultimately able to mitigate the hazard and bring the incident under control.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Firefighters were able to confine the blaze to the shipping container, preventing damage from extending further on the property.
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