Suffolk fire crews warn lithium-ion batteries pose growing risk as house fires rise
New figures showed a 4.4% year-on-year increase in accidental house fires across the UK.
Fire crews in Suffolk are warning about the dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries after new figures showed a 4.4% year-on-year increase in accidental house fires across the UK.
The data has been released during Electrical Fire Safety Week.
The warning follows a national rise in accidental house fires and a report showing Suffolk is in the top eight worst counties for having working smoke alarms.
"It can be pretty devastating"
Lee Wilkins, group manager and head of prevention at Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, said the widespread use of lithium-ion batteries is contributing to the risk.
“I suppose it’s probably their prevalence now, they’re in absolutely everything,” he said.
“Everything from a rechargeable toothbrush to cars to battery energy storage systems — they’re very, very in common use.”
He explained that batteries manufactured to a good standard and used correctly should be safe, but problems can arise when they are damaged or paired with incompatible charging equipment.
“Issues come where they are damaged, where people buy recharging equipment online that isn’t matched to the equipment that they’re using it for,” Mr Wilkins said.
“If people aren’t looking after things, if they’re not using them as per the manufacturer’s instructions, then you can have all manner of problems.”
Mr Wilkins warned that lithium-ion batteries can enter what is known as “thermal runaway”, a chemical reaction that can escalate rapidly.
“That chemical reaction can become almost self-sustaining and go into what’s called a thermal runaway,” he said.
“It can release flammable vapours. It can then explode, causing all manner of problems… they can cause very, very significant fires.”
Fire services have responded to incidents involving batteries in storage and transport, with Mr Wilkins describing how fires can spread quickly.
“If you had a bank of batteries… it would then cause that sort of self-sustaining, self-generating reaction whereby the surrounding ones would catch fire,” he said.
“So yeah, it can be pretty devastating.”
Specialist training and environmental risks
He added that firefighters require specialist training to deal with such incidents because batteries behave differently from traditional fire sources.
“We specifically train all different manner of fires because they all behave differently,” Mr Wilkins said.
“You have different techniques, different materials that you need to use to extinguish them.”
In some cases, particularly involving electric vehicle batteries, crews may need to submerge vehicles in large containers of water, while also weighing environmental risks.
“We have to consider the environment as a fire and rescue service,” he said.
“You end up weighing up whether or not you do what we would call a controlled burn or actually use copious amounts of water to extinguish it.”
Despite the risks, Mr Wilkins stressed that prevention work plays a major role in keeping communities safe.
“Whilst we do turn up to emergencies, we also try and do a lot of preventative work,” he said.
“We engage with businesses, we engage with communities and ultimately we enforce… because people deserve to be safe in their homes and when they’re at work.”
Electrical Safety First is expected to highlight smoke alarm testing as part of the campaign, urging households to ensure devices are working properly.
Fire services continue to advise residents to follow manufacturer guidance when charging devices and to avoid using damaged batteries or incompatible chargers.