As lithium-ion batteries explode in popularity, fire departments are adapting to make sure they can handle the batteries that burn very hot and urge all families to be careful. In 2018, WESH 2 News talked to a mother who rushed her family out of their home after she said their hoverboard exploded in their Palm Coast residence. “Boom, boom boom boom, just blowing up. All I can do is grab my daughter, grabbed everyone and try and get out,” said Melissa Bodiford. Lt. Tom Mirisola explained those battery fires are very hot. “These fires burn super hot, super fast, so they go from the battery is swollen and intact to over 2,500 degrees, and they burn extremely hot,” Mirisola said. For perspective, at 130 degrees, a pot of hot water would burn you. A fire that’s engulfed a room is around 1,800 degrees. That’s why as these batteries become more common, Lt. Mirisola said the Seminole County Fire Department is adding tools to help fight or contain the flames. “We’re still working on how to handle that situation where the batteries are damaged. We obviously don’t want to leave them inside the home, where they could reignite the fire,” Lt. Mirisola said. For now, a 30-gallon drum holds batteries that have caught on fire, which they monitor for 30 days. For electric vehicles, they’ve purchased fire blankets. “A lot of people have the misconception that we will put out fires with them. We just use them to control the fire until we can figure out exactly how we’re going to mitigate the situation,” Mirisola said. But what about explosion-proof bags? They look like a cooler meant to hold batteries. A Michigan fire department posted pictures of a fire and explosion-proof bag online, saying an e-bike battery was in the bag and blew it apart. Their post reads, “the bag did nothing to stop the fire.”Lt. Mirisola said it’s hard to duplicate tests to see just how effective those bags are, but he said they do have a purpose.”My son has remote control cars, and we actually charge them inside the bags in case we were to smell something, notice any sort of swelling in the batteries, and if I was to notice that, I would immediately just take the bag outside,” Lt. Mirisola explained.Since Seminole Fire started tracking lithium-ion battery fires from April 2024 to last December, the department responded to 20 incidents, about one per month. Seven were electric vehicles. How to reduce your risk:Use the right charger block for all your devices. Those blocks are rated specifically to your device.Replace phone batteries with the manufacturer.Unplug devices once they are fully charged.Think before you act.Once your device is dead, don’t throw it in your trash. Make sure you are taking it to your county’s transfer station so it doesn’t start a fire in the dump truck.
As lithium-ion batteries explode in popularity, fire departments are adapting to make sure they can handle the batteries that burn very hot and urge all families to be careful.
In 2018, WESH 2 News talked to a mother who rushed her family out of their home after she said their hoverboard exploded in their Palm Coast residence.
“Boom, boom boom boom, just blowing up. All I can do is grab my daughter, grabbed everyone and try and get out,” said Melissa Bodiford.
Lt. Tom Mirisola explained those battery fires are very hot.
“These fires burn super hot, super fast, so they go from the battery is swollen and intact to over 2,500 degrees, and they burn extremely hot,” Mirisola said.
For perspective, at 130 degrees, a pot of hot water would burn you. A fire that’s engulfed a room is around 1,800 degrees. That’s why as these batteries become more common, Lt. Mirisola said the Seminole County Fire Department is adding tools to help fight or contain the flames.
“We’re still working on how to handle that situation where the batteries are damaged. We obviously don’t want to leave them inside the home, where they could reignite the fire,” Lt. Mirisola said.
For now, a 30-gallon drum holds batteries that have caught on fire, which they monitor for 30 days. For electric vehicles, they’ve purchased fire blankets.
“A lot of people have the misconception that we will put out fires with them. We just use them to control the fire until we can figure out exactly how we’re going to mitigate the situation,” Mirisola said.
But what about explosion-proof bags? They look like a cooler meant to hold batteries.
A Michigan fire department posted pictures of a fire and explosion-proof bag online, saying an e-bike battery was in the bag and blew it apart. Their post reads, “the bag did nothing to stop the fire.”
Lt. Mirisola said it’s hard to duplicate tests to see just how effective those bags are, but he said they do have a purpose.
“My son has remote control cars, and we actually charge them inside the bags in case we were to smell something, notice any sort of swelling in the batteries, and if I was to notice that, I would immediately just take the bag outside,” Lt. Mirisola explained.
Since Seminole Fire started tracking lithium-ion battery fires from April 2024 to last December, the department responded to 20 incidents, about one per month. Seven were electric vehicles.
How to reduce your risk:
- Use the right charger block for all your devices. Those blocks are rated specifically to your device.
- Replace phone batteries with the manufacturer.
- Unplug devices once they are fully charged.
- Think before you act.
Once your device is dead, don’t throw it in your trash. Make sure you are taking it to your county’s transfer station so it doesn’t start a fire in the dump truck.
