Drone bursts into flames at Darwin postal centre

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A $15,000 drone being sent to someone in the Northern Territory has burst into flames at a postal facility, prompting a warning from fire authorities.

The NT Fire and Rescue Service praised workers at the postal delivery warehouse in the Darwin suburb of Winnellie after they quickly extinguished the package.

"Quick reactions from staff at the distribution centre prevented a major incident," a statement from the fire service said.

The incident happened after someone was sent a drone transported ready for assembly, but the lithium battery in it was not connected.

"It has deteriorated and self-ignited," fire investigator Tony Miles said.
Mr Miles said a strange smell was noticed by workers about 4:30am today.

One worker called triple-0 to report the smell while another isolated the package and a fire extinguisher was used to put it out.

Warning for those sending lithium ion batteries

"It was just lucky that when the fire was noticed and when it started smoking and smelling and so on, that it was somewhere where people were able to see it early and extinguish it fairly rapidly," Mr Miles said.

He warned people who were sending lithium batteries in the mail to follow all directions and recommendations connected to the product.

"If you have a lithium battery that has been dropped or damaged you should contact the manufacture or supplier for further instruction."
Charges against those from Queensland that sent the drone, or the recipient are unlikely.

It is understood the drone was to be used for professional reasons, and was not intended to be used as a toy.

The fire did not totally write-off the expensive drone, with parts worth several thousand dollars still left intact.

The battery that ignited was about the size of a can of drink.