A MAJOR fire at a commercial site in Workington involved lithium batteries in a 25 metre squared building, with the incident taking fire fighters over seven hours to deal with the incident.

At around 2:50pm yesterday, March 19 eight fire engines, the aerial ladder platform, water bowser and a joint incident command unit attended a fire at the Recycling Lives facility on Isabella Road in Workington.

The fire at the recycling site, involved a 25 metre squared building which housed lithium batteries, with fire warning nearby houses to keep their windows closed at the time of the blaze.

Firefighter used four breathing apparatus, one compressed air foam system, one main jet and one medium expansion foam to extinguish the fire.

Emergency services including police were on the scene for some time, with fire appliances leaving the unit at around 10:52pm, handing the incident over to staff at the site.