Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is warning residents about the dangers of lithium batteries following a rise in serious and fatal incidents across the country.
Lithium batteries can be found in cars, bikes, scooters, laptops, phones, and e-cigarettes, amongst many other items. Fire and rescue services are most concerned about the significant fire risk involved with electric vehicles including e-bikes and e-scooter batteries, after several UK deaths have been linked to fires caused by these.
The danger occurs when e-bikes and e-scooters are left on charge and unattended in homes or in communal areas such as hallways and stairwells. They can block emergency escape routes in multi-occupant buildings, making it harder to escape in the event of a fire. Charging lithium batteries indoors increases the fire risk, especially if charged overnight when occupants are sleeping.
Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin said:
“E-bikes and e-scooters with lithium batteries can catch fire quickly and with little warning if not handled and cared for correctly or if they are of poor quality. If lithium batteries overheat when charging, there’s also a risk of these exploding. After the recent Cambridge tragedy which sadly cost the lives of a mother and her 2 children, we want to highlight the dangers and increased fire risk these products can present, to hopefully avoid such tragedies in the future.
“To help keep everyone in your family safe, don’t leave lithium batteries to charge unattended, don’t put them in the way of exits or in hallways and unplug chargers when the batteries are at full capacity.”
It is not just fires in the home that are a concern as there has also been increased reports of fires in the waste and recycling system caused by batteries and electricals containing batteries. In response to this, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), has teamed up with Material Focus to produce a new safety video “Stop Battery Fires” that emphasises the dangers of throwing away batteries, and the importance of never binning and always recycling batteries and electricals containing batteries.
Greater production and storage of lithium batteries also has potential safety implications for the community and fire and rescue services, due to the likelihood of these units exploding when they become involved in a fire. Last year HIWFRS Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin issued a letter to council chiefs warning about the dangers of lithium batteries and the increasing number of battery storage facilities across the country.
Top tips:
- Always use the charger that came with your product as poor quality chargers can damage batteries and increase the risk of fire.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to charge batteries and unplug when the charge is complete.
- Never leave a charger plugged in overnight or unattended.
- Only choose branded, genuine products from a reputable retailer.
- Avoid storing, using or charging batteries at very high or low temperatures.
- Don’t overload your sockets.
- Ensure you regularly check batteries for signs of damage.
- If a battery is not holding charge, gets hot, bulges or you hear hissing noises when charging, unplug immediately.
- Always charge e-bikes/e-scooters clear of exits and your escape routes so you can easily escape in the event of a fire.
- Never cover chargers or battery packs as this could lead to overheating or a fire.
- Install working smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the areas where you store or charge your e-bike/e-scooter.
- If there are any evident signs of fire such as the battery smoking or flames, raise the alarm immediately, get out, stay out and call 999.
Have you seen the videos of Teslas burn after they’ve been in a crash?
Electric vehicles are unsafe.
Have you seen the videos for petrol cars just bursting into flames on the dual carriage way? Search all the vehicle fires on this news site, how many electric? None!
Because as with ethnic crime here compared to indigenous, just because the stats are low for electric vehicles here this has to be compared with how high the PERCENTAGE of such HERE is when compared to petroleum cars.
hence data is often misrepresented by those with own agendas
Have you seen the video of the Tesla that hurtled off a cliff in the USA where the driver tried to commit suicide with his family. It didn’t explode unlike an ICE car would.
Can you share all the electric car fire Videos you have for car fires on the island. ?
As more and more arrive into the UK, additional need and pressure will be forced onto us all to get electric cars, which contain huge lithium batteries.
The risk of fires which are almost impossible but for the professional fire service to put out, will become a greater risk in the event of accidents.
This ‘green’ agenda under the guise of ‘saving the planet’ is but a ruse to force cars from the road, to allow the ‘better people’ to travel in comfort and low density traffic, whilst the whiz by you wobbling about exposed to the elements on some silly bike or scooter
Fall for it at YOUR peril imo.
Electric vehicles do more harm to the climate than any other vehicle.
Of course they do keith. Hey there’s an electric car event next Sunday at the college, why not come and speak there and share your expertise?
How do you think the lithium comes to be used in batteries , mined by children and diesel machines to excavate the destruction of land and habitat for wildlife . Just so the few that use electric vehicles can say their doing there part for the environment . But how does one get the electric to charge the vehicles and how is that electric generated?
It takes a special kind of special to link the danger from Li-Ion batteries to immigration.
Note: I mean special, as in “mummy says I special”.
Yes, once a light hard to put out. But you’re fooling yourself thinking that petrol cars are any safer.
When you buy crap from china what do you expect?
Looks like some of you need to get yourselves down to the Going Electric show this Sunday and perhaps learn a thing or two.
https://iowcommunityenergy.org/projects/power-to-change/going-electric-2023/
No thanks .nothing wrong with my 27 year old diesel defender ,still going strong .
This article isn’t even about electric cars but somehow all the hurt men have made it.
It’s about buying cheap rubbish electrical items and leaving them on charge.
Please share links of all the electric car fires that’s been on the island.
Winchester close enough Lithium battery sparks electric vehicle blaze in Bramdean
Nevermind wait until a e car goes up in a multistorey car park….
Well, for all those people that think electric cars are ok, you better hope your not on the car ferry in the middle of the solent when a Tesla starts to smoke! Keep believing the narrative, like you have over the last 3 years, and how is that going for you?
My Tesla made it over just fine thanks, without bursting into flames.
Fourth EV. None have exploded. All have been great.
If you see me around give me a wave and I’ll give you a ride. You may even have fun.
Thanks for the offer adam, hope you enjoy you electric car . For me Russian roulette is not a game I choose to play. Plus , I’m not as rich as yourself and couldn’t afford the depreciation value on a car like that. Anyway enjoy while it lasts, the electric car phenomenon.
Thank you. I do very much enjoy it. My wife also drives an EV, as you have discovered yourself they’re a bit of a bargain second hand.
Angry men still upset about electric cars, this article is nothing to do with electric cars!
It’s to do with many other things that you all probably have in your house right now and ensuring they are safe and quality.
Stop obsessing about electric cars. They won’t hurt you. You don’t have to have one so it’s ok.
To please you even more, did you know red funnel discount 25% any crossing if you go in an electric car.
I heard the discount was only for a one way ticket, ie off the island….
Agree. Not that this article was about EVs, however the Island could be such an EV nirvana. Pick up a bargain second-hand Leaf, Zoe, Ioniq, i3 or similar for £5-£8K and you could still go a week between charges and drive for pennies, without locally polluting our area of outstanding natural beauty. Strange that some of the Islanders don’t seem to want that.