COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Investigators with the Columbus Division of Fire (CFD) have officially declared the cause of a scrapyard fire that burned for days as "undetermined," however signs point to it being started by a lithium ion battery.   “To be scientifically pure it has to go down as undetermined because we just can't pinpoint, but it did have, visually, all the trademarks on a security camera that looked like a lithium ion battery in a quote-unquote runaway state it's called," Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter said.  It took fire crews more than three days to put out the fire at a scrapyard in southeast Columbus. CFD estimated about 500 of its 1,600 members had a role in extinguishing it. With the size of the fire and all that it burned, Geitter said investigators cannot be 100% sure of the cause. However, security video from the property shows signs consistent with a lithium ion battery fire.   "Runaway state it's called where they spontaneously combust with their own energy they have inside and cause a rapidly growing fire," Geitter said. "So that's what the indications were by looking at the video; again, without being able to scientifically test, it has to go down as undetermined, but it just had all those trademarks visually."   CFD and departments across the country are dealing with more lithium ion battery fires. Back in April, a fire in a trailer with those batteries in Franklinton led to evacuations in the area.  “With the new technology, we’re playing catch up a little bit trying to figure out the right ways to extinguish these," Geitter said. "It's the newest technology, it’s here to stay but we’re trying to play catchup and learn as we go and again really trusting and learning from our peers across the country as they experience things, what can we learn from them.”  Geitter used the April incident and the fire at the scrapyard to remind community members about properly charging, storing and recycling of lithium ion batteries.   “I think there’s some lessons to take away here that whether it was or wasn't we are going to see lithium ion battery fires and we want to be safe about them," he said.   Lithium Ion batteries can be recycled at the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio's (SWACO) Recycling Convenience Center at 2566 Jackson Pike or the Household Hazardous Waste drop-off at 645 East 8th Ave. Residents can also go to RecycleRight.org for more information.   Geitter said CFD is looking at possible code changes when it comes to the disposal of lithium ion batteries.   "Actively, the Columbus Division of Fire’s Fire Prevention Bureau is looking at do we need to implement new code, new prevention techniques as part of disposing of lithium ion batteries to help prevent something we see, and so that's an active discussion that's going on," he said.   The facility where the fire took place was up for an annual inspection and had passed all previous inspections, according to Geitter.    "Circumstances were their shredder had broke in the week or two prior and so debris was larger piles than they typically have and so they were issued some violations for that; they’ve since been corrected, but that, again, circumstantial, just led to the scenario that unfolded that day," he said.