Safety Tips about charging Lithium-Ion Batteries

A growing number of fires are now being caused by lithium-ion batteries.  These batteries power popular electric bikes and electric scooters.  Rabun County Assistant Fire Chief Justin Upchurch offers this safety advice about charging and using lithium-ion batteries.  “Lithium-ion batteries have pushed themselves to the forefront of everybody’s rechargeable batteries.  They’re in laptops and they’re definitely in the scooters that people have.  My own kids have scooters and little motorcycles that use them.  There has been a rash nationwide of lithium-ion batteries causing fires.  The New York Fire Department last year blamed nearly 200 building fires and six deaths on lithium-ion batteries exploding and causing fires.  So, there are some safety concerns and some things we can look at to keep us safe while using these batteries that are everywhere.  Don’t charge your device under a pillow on your bed or near a couch and that’s your phone also.  If you have ever charged your iPhone or cellphone, you realize it builds up quite a bit of heat as it is charging, so don’t leave it on your bed.  Always use the manufacturer’s cord and power adapter.  Keep batteries and devices at room temperature.  Don’t place them in direct sunlight where they will overheat.  Store batteries away from anything flammable.  Stop using a battery if it overheats, leaks, if you smell any kind of odor, or it changes shape or color.  Don’t leave your electronic bikes, your e-bikes, or scooters unattended while charging, and don’t charge them overnight.  Don’t throw rechargeable batteries in the trash or recycling.  You should be disposing of them at a facility that actually handles batteries.  They are not safe to put in normal garbage.  And the biggest thing is with charging the scooters and stuff overnight.  During the day, you can go out and check on them periodically if you smell anything or see any smoke.  A lot of these fires that are happening, that is what it is, these scooters are charging overnight and they are catching fire and of course when they burn they burn very violently and rapidly and release a lot of heat and it can get out-of-hand very quickly.  At night, you won’t realize it is happening until it is possibly too late.”  Please follow this safety advice from the Rabun County Fire Department when using lithium-ion batteries.