Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to a fire under the railway arches on Silwood Street in Bermondsey.
Part of a railway arch used for metal recycling was damaged by fire. Crews also extinguished a gas cylinder and cooled it to an ambient temperature. There were no reports of any injuries.
Station Commander Tony Perks, who was at the scene, said: “Crews worked hard to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible and prevented the fire from spreading.
“Due to emergency services presence at the scene throughout the evening, we urged people to avoid the area last night where possible to help minimise disruption.”
The fire is believed to have been accidental and involved a lithium-ion battery.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Lithium-ion batteries and electricals with hidden lithium-ion batteries should not be placed in the same bins as your regular rubbish or recycling. Instead, check with the retailer or your local authority's website for the safest way to dispose of lithium-ion batteries in your area and reduce the risk of fires occurring.
"Lithium-ion battery fires are a major risk. We’ve seen a growing number of fires at waste disposal sites that are believed to have been caused by a lithium battery.
"Although lithium-ion battery products that have been built to a poor standard are a higher fire risk, any battery is at risk of exploding and catching fire if it has been crushed or becomes damaged. Lithium-ion battery fires can be ferocious and can spread in seconds.
"Fires that we attend at sites like recycling centres and scrap yards can be very time consuming for our firefighters and often require a high level of resources to put the fire out. We’ve also seen the detrimental environmental and societal impact these fires can have on local communities."
The Brigade's Control Officers took the first of four calls to the fire at 2006 and sent crews from New Cross, Deptford, Old Kent Road, Dockhead and surrounding fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control by 2113.