Electrical Fire Stafford

Stafford man ‘loses everything’ in electrical-bike fire

by with No Comment News

A Stafford man has said he has “lost everything” after an electrical fire that started because his electric bike exploded.

Dave Bird, from Stafford, was on holiday with his children in Wales last month when he was told about the fire by his friend who was house-sitting and looking after his pets.

“Everything is just gone, the kitchen is obliterated, all my furniture, my cooker, totally devastated,” said Mr Bird.

“There are things I can’t get back, pictures of my mum and my dad who’ve both passed, items of jewellery from my dad, his fob watch and things like that. Things that the kids have made me.”

‘Totally devastated’

He continued: “The thing that really upset me was pictures of my daughter on the wall who I lost in 2010. They were totally… That really upset me.”

Mr Bird’s friend, Dan, had bought the E-bike as a gift for him to help with his mobility issues and he planned to surprise him with it when he returned home from holiday.

Shortly after putting the bike on charge, Dan heard a bang from the kitchen and the fire erupted.

Mr Bird returned from holiday to a burnt-out shell of a house after the fire had ripped through his home and destroyed all of his belongings.

‘You buy something you expect it to work’

“He plugged it in at night for a few hours to make sure it was ready for the morning when I got back and it blew up,” said Mr Bird, “he heard a fizz and a pop and then the fire just spread and everything gone, that’s it.”

“He had to go the hospital for oxygen, the kittens had to go for oxygen, I’m just thankful he got out safe,” he said.

“There’s nothing you can do, he felt like it was his fault. I said ‘You wouldn’t expect that’, you buy something you expect it to work don’t you.”

An investigation by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service found the main source of the fire was the battery charger – and they are now issuing warnings to anyone who is considering purchasing an E-bike.

To charge the bikes safely the fire service is urging people to always use the correct charger and not to charge them overnight due to the risk of bikes overheating.

“We’re seeing a rise in the number of issues we’ve got with the safety of those, particularly around the chargers,” said Tony Shore, Staffordshire Trading Standards Operations Manager.

“A lot of fires that are caused are as a result of faulty electrical goods and it’s important that you do your research before you buy them.

“Make sure that they comply with the appropriate British standards and make sure, more importantly, that they’re genuine products and they’re not counterfeit.”

The charger was bought from Amazon and Dave now wants the retailer to take it off sale.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Amazon said: “We’ve reached out to the customer directly and a full investigation’s underway. Safety is important to Amazon and we want customers to shop with confidence on our stores.

“We monitor the products sold for product safety concerns and require all products on Amazon to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

“If customers have concerns about an item they’ve purchased, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service directly so we can investigate and take appropriate action.”

Mr Bird rents his house from the council and they have told him it’ll take at least six months to rebuild it.

Lithium-ion batteries and E-bike fires specifically are a growing problem. More and more cases like this one seem to be occurring every week. These are serious matters and luckily, in this case, no one was hurt. This Stafford electrical fire incident is an eye-opener for many and should act in spreading awareness of incidents like this one.

Nottingham Lithium-ion battery fire

Three children seriously injured in Nottingham house fire caused by Lithium-ion battery

by with No Comment News

Three children were seriously injured after a house fire in Nottingham, with one suffering from severe burns. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue has issued a statement after the incident on Monday, July 10.

Firefighters were called to the blaze shortly after 5:40pm at a property on Longford Crescent in Bulwell. Fire crews from Stockhill, Arnold and Hucknall all attended the fire.

Three children were rescued from the house by a neighbour. One of these children was left with severe burns. They were all taken to hospital by ambulance, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue said.

The fire was found to have been caused by a fault in a large Lithium-ion battery. This exploded; as many Lithium-ion battery fires do; and caused severe burn injuries to one of the children.

Beth Hayman, Fire Investigation Officer, said: “We would like to wish a speedy recovery to those injured and affected in the incident earlier this week.”

“Lithium-ion batteries can be found in everyday technology and household items such as laptops, mobile phones, e-cigarettes, e-scooters and DIY tools. If not handled and cared for correctly, can become extremely dangerous and behave in a volatile manner causing catastrophic damage and injuries.”

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service will be visiting residents around Longford Cresent on Monday, July 17 to reassure residents and offer free Safe and Well visits to check smoke alarms.

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere but how are they dangerous and what causes them to start fires? Most of the time Lithium-ion batteries are safe and will never start a fire with safe and sensible usage, but when they are used with little care, this is when they can be a danger. Here at Fireology, we stress the importance of proper use of these batteries and devices with them inside.

Lithium-ion battery fires

Lithium-ion Battery Fires An Overview

by with One Comment Lithium-ion Battery Fires

The Lithium-ion battery was invented in 1982. These batteries are completely different from the standard lithium battery. Lithium batteries are the standard non-rechargeable batteries and are very safe. Lithium-ion batteries, however, are rechargeable and this is where the problems come from. Lithium-ion battery fires are not common but the odds can be increased by the wrong practices. These batteries are not unsafe as such but they certainly have their risks.

As these batteries are rechargeable they store lots of energy relative to their size. As they are so small, they are very accessible and therefore are used for all different rechargeable products of all different shapes and sizes.

As the technology has developed for these Lithium-ion batteries, they have been able to hold more and more energy relative to their size, and this is what has made them more dangerous as time has progressed. In the modern household, they can be seen everywhere from our phones, watches, laptops, earphones and even more recently popular e-bikes and e-scooters which have been shown to be the most dangerous in the latest statistics. There have been 102 fires associated with e-bikes and scooters so far in 2023. This then forecasts to 338 for the whole year. This is a massive increase from the 227 fires caused by electrical scooters and bikes in 2022.

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere but how are they dangerous and what causes them to start fires? Most of the time Lithium-ion batteries are safe and will never start a fire with safe and sensible usage, but when they are used with little care, this is when they can be a danger.

Overcharging

One of the causes of the Lithium-ion battery actually setting on fire is when the battery is overcharged. This is when the battery is constantly being charged over its optimal charge window and even still past 100%. The biggest culprit for this is people such as phone users who leave their phones charging overnight, every night. This then eventually over time wears the battery out until just one time it could explode and burst into flames.

This is also a growing problem with e-bikes and e-scooters as they are another common item that is left to charge for extended periods of time. Lithium-ion batteries have an optimal window of charge which is 30-70% and maybe 20-80% for some products. If a battery is kept in this window at all times, the wear on the battery will stay minimal for a long time, therefore leading to longer life of the battery and less chance of it starting a fire.

Overheating

Another factor is whether the battery is overheating. Overheating can be caused by many different things such as blocked ventilation or overexposure to direct heat such as the sun. With electrical cars or EVs using large Lithium-ion batteries to function, these can also have this as an added risk. In a few situations overheating due to being in extreme heat for too long has led to fires in the batteries of the electric cars. These fires are usually very dangerous as an EV has a huge Lithium-ion battery in it which then will explode into flames if this problem occurs. The battery itself is spread along the whole bottom of the car. Some cases of this have been involved with Teslas that have gone up in flames by overheating. 

Another common reason for Lithium-ion battery fires being caused by overheating is leaving products such as phones charging under objects like pillows or blankets where ventilation is poor. These fires are dangerous as they are likely in or under a very flammable material and would allow the fire to spread with ease.

Spreading knowledge and knowing about the dangers of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is important as they are a growing danger in the modern home and in modern life in general. With these fires’ spontaneous nature and their huge dangers, e-bikes and e-scooters have been banned from all London transport systems after a number of fires on the network caused by these rechargeable vehicles. 

Disposal

Li-ion battery fires can sometimes occur after the disposal of the batteries themselves. These can happen if the battery is penetrated or crushed. These scenarios are a danger when disposing of and maybe even still at the end of the life of one of these batteries. 

When a Lithium-ion battery is penetrated, this can lead to the potent electrolytes leaking through the hole in the battery, which then often creates a chemical reaction that releases heat. This in turn heats the other cells in the battery and can lead to thermal runaway.

Thermal runaway is when a cell of the Li-ion battery enters a self-heating uncontrollable stage which leads to an explosion and then a fire. This is a huge danger when disposing of these batteries, on a domestic scale officials recommend placing and leaving the batteries in salt water for at least two weeks and then disposing of them as hazardous waste. If one of these batteries were to get to landfill and get damaged this could lead to thermal runaway and then turn into a huge fire causing the whole site to get engulfed in flames. So when disposing of and dealing with damaged Li-ion batteries please take great care.

Dealing with Lithium-ion battery fires

So if a Li-ion battery fire does occur, what are you supposed to do and how do you deal with it? If you know about fire classification, you may think these would fall into Class D fires (flammable metals). However, this is incorrect. This also means they cannot be extinguished with the Specialist Class D extinguishers like flammable metal fires can.

However, there are some types of fire extinguishers that can extinguish these very dangerous fires. Some of the latest products that are being developed and produced are AVD Vermiculite fire extinguishers and EV fire blankets. The EV fire blanket is specifically designed for electric vehicles and is placed directly over the electric car to maintain the fire. These fires are much harder to put out as these fires burn at around 700℃ to 1,000℃ and can burn for up to 24 hours. But with the EV fire blanket, it can drastically reduce this time by depriving the fire of oxygen. 

The AVD Vermiculite fire extinguishers are products aimed to try to target all types of Li-ion battery fires. They are a water-based extinguishing system with vermiculite particles suspended in the water to act as a smothering tool to stop the fire from receiving oxygen. These extinguishers are designed to deprive the fire of heat and oxygen and act as an electrical barrier. Currently, there is no British standard for these types of extinguishers and technology, so the companies that produce them are working hard to get them certified for use industrially.

Firexo

However, there is one fire extinguisher that stands out in this field. That is the Firexo all-purpose fire extinguisher. This Firexo extinguisher can be used on all types of fires, including Lithium-ion battery fires. The Firexo extinguishers that we sell have the Kitemark to BS EN3 which means that are approved to British Standards. They also have the CE mark.

These extinguishers are non-toxic and biodegradable which makes them some of the most groundbreaking products of the fire industry. To find out more about Firexo click HERE.