Evening Hazardous Materials Call: Exploded Battery Pack Safely Removed from Local Hotel

Pittsburgh, PA - Firefighters from the Green Tree Volunteer Fire Company responded Sunday night to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel to manage a hazardous materials call involving a ruptured lithium-ion battery pack.

Apparatus from Station 163, including Engine 1 and Truck 1, were dispatched at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, October 11, 2026, following reports that a lithium-ion battery unit had exploded inside the lodging facility.

First-arriving personnel located the ruptured battery pack, which had sustained a catastrophic mechanical failure and self-extinguished prior to the company's arrival, discharging smoke throughout the immediate floor area.

Engine company personnel systematically deployed ventilation equipment to clear the residual smoke and chemical fumes from the building.

To eliminate the acute risk of secondary thermal runaway, chemical reignition, or toxic off-gassing, firefighters safely retrieved the damaged cells, moved them outside the structure, and submerged the pack in a water bath to achieve sustained cooling and chemical stabilization. No injuries or structural damage were reported.