Fire Prevention Week focuses on lithium ion batteries
JOPLIN, Mo. — In the thralls of Fire Prevention Week, local fire departments took the time to explain the importance of this week and keeping people up to date on fire safety and prevention—both inside and outside the home.
“Fire Prevention Week’s always an important week in the fire service because it gives us a chance to get out there and talk to the public and let them know the topics that’s important to us, but also just to have a chance to reflect that,” Webb City Fire Chief Andy Roughton said to Newstalk KZRG. “All year long we should be practicing fire safety.”
With this year’s theme, “Charge into Fire Safety™: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home,” the department is emphasizing how these everyday power sources in phones, laptops, e-bikes, and more can turn from convenient to catastrophic if not handled properly.
“And this year, the big push is lithium batteries,” Roughton said. “Make sure you’re buying the proper UL listed ones, you’re using the correct chargers on them. And then when you dispose of them, make sure to dispose of them at the recycling center as opposed to just the trash.”
If you experience any sort of issue with your lithium ion batteries, it’s best to call emergency services right away. Do not throw water on the fire, or you could make it worse.
“(Lithium Ion batteries) can short circuit and create a situation called thermal runaway,” Carthage Fire Chief Jason Martin explained. “Those fires are very difficult to put out because it becomes burning metal at that point. And when you dump copious amounts of water on it, it can create explosive hazard or fragmentation hazard. It’s almost like fireworks when you hit the burning metal with water.”
Pay attention to your batteries, they will give you signs of a potential hazard. Never leave them on the chargers.
“When your battery takes longer to charge, when it doesn’t hold a charge, when it says that it won’t charge or there’s a fault in the battery, the lithium ion batteries, that’s when they should be disposed of,” Martin said. “We’ve had a number of fires over the last few years. We had one with a family that had several drones and they were just charging their drone batteries and it burnt their house down because of thermal runaway. We just had recently a fire that took out a shop building next to a house, and they were charging lithium ion batteries for the little play cars that kids can drive around in the driveway. And it did much more damage than it was insured for. So anytime you’re charging lithium ion batteries, you need to be aware of the condition of the battery and make sure that it’s in a stable environment without flammables near it.”
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to put out a fire associated with a lithium ion battery, use a dry chemical extinguisher and then call emergency services immediately.
With the temperatures starting to dip more and more, many people are starting to turn on their heating elements inside the home to provide comfort from the early chills.
“We’re getting to that time of year where heating devices like electric heaters, things like that are going to become an issue, or just furnaces,” Roughton said. “Make sure you’re using everything properly and following the directions of the equipment, not overloading your electrical circuits.”
“Have your heat unit checked and don’t be alarmed if the first time you run it if there’s a little bit of a smell because the dust in the heat exchanger is probably being burnt off,” Martin said. “The inspection of your heat unit could expose a crack in the heat exchanger and that allows carbon monoxide into the residence. So, make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector in proximity to your furnace if it’s a gas furnace, and change the filters.”
Getting a professional inside and outside your home to check your furnace and HVAC system is essential this time of year.
This time of year is also consistent with structural fires because of lack of preparation. Bonfires and fire pits are popular in the fall. Wetting the ground around the fire consistently can prevent any dry grass from catching. And you want to make sure any fire is far enough away from any structures capable of being set ablaze.
“You want to keep the fires outside far enough away from structures or any overhead power lines, trees, things like that, where, if embers could start flying,” Roughton said. “And you want to make sure you can kind of control that and be courteous of your neighbors so it’s not blowing over into their yard. And you want to make sure smoke’s not an issue either.”
The best thing you can do to be prepared is to plan ahead. Make sure you’re taking every precaution necessary.