An overheated lithium ion battery – a supply of rising numbers of fires in Canada – could have sparked the fireplace that left one dwelling gutted.
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Brian Williams •
Printed Oct 01, 2024 • Final up to date Oct 01, 2024 • 3 minute learn
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Houses at 54 and 56 Penhale Ave. had been broken by fireplace in St. Thomas. Photograph shot on Tuesday Oct. 1, 2024. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
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ST. THOMAS – A substitute lithium-ion battery in a searching system seems to have been the reason for a fireplace that gutted a house right here and severely broken the one subsequent door.
The house on Penhale Avenue within the metropolis’s south finish was totally engulfed in flames that had unfold to a neighbouring home when firefighters arrived Sunday simply after 7 p.m., fireplace officers stated. Each households had been dwelling and managed to flee safely, with their pets, however the blaze underscores rising concern over fires triggered by overheated lithium-ion batteries.
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Casey Baker was at dwelling together with his spouse and two sons, ages 4 and 15 months, and their canine when the fireplace began in his storage. Baker stated he suspected the fireplace was began by a substitute battery, not the unique, for a duck decoy utilized in duck searching. He’d bought it on-line.
“I’m pretty sure it was that one that started it,” Baker stated. “It seemed to be warmer than other batteries when you charged it . . . I don’t know, but that’s what my intuition is.”
Additionally saved within the storage had been propane tanks, spray paint cans and fuel cans that fueled the blaze.
The danger of fires brought on by lithium-ion batteries – a kind of rechargeable battery – is changing into a priority due to the big selection of shopper merchandise, similar to cellphones, laptops, tablets, scooters, hand instruments and garden mowers that use them.
Ontario’s Workplace of the Fireplace Marshal offers experience on fireplace security and has begun protecting observe of fires on account of lithium-ion batteries, stated John McBeth, a deputy fireplace marshal with the company, though particular numbers weren’t obtainable.
“We’re seeing a lot more of these devices out there,” McBeth stated. “With an increased number of devices comes the increased potential that you’re going to see fire-related incidences.”
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Lithium-ion batteries have been implicated in a rising variety of fires in Canada, triggering public security warnings by fireplace departments and others. The rechargeable batteries have grown in recognition amid the demand for smaller and extra highly effective electrical provide for gadgets.
McBeth stated the batteries change into harmful once they endure a failure referred to as “thermal runaway,” which may happen once they’re overcharged, misused or broken.
“Thermal runaway is when a battery generates more heat than it can release to its surroundings, and so this excessive heat causes a reaction, which then causes even more heat, and it creates a cycle that can lead to fires or explosions,” he stated.
McBeth stated utilizing particular chargers for particular gadgets can scale back the danger of thermal runaway. Even leaving a cellphone charging unmonitored in a single day has been flagged as a security concern.
There was no quick harm estimate for Sunday’s blaze, which gutted the home the place it began and broken the siding and attic of the one subsequent door. Baker stated it could possibly be six months to a 12 months earlier than he and his household will be capable to return to their dwelling.
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The duck decoy battery was taken to a fireplace corridor, officers famous, as a result of they will maintain a cost and pose a fireplace hazard days later.
Lithium-ion battery security ideas from Ontario’s fireplace marshal
Use a charger that was designed for and got here with the system.Use particular chargers for particular gadgets.Don’t tamper with or try to switch lithium-ion batteries.Cost merchandise away from exit doorways and stairwells in case they catch fireLook for system chargers with the Canadian certification markingsDon’t cost cellphones while you’re sleeping.
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The Native Journalism Initiative is funded by the Authorities of Canada
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