As lithium-ion battery packs continue to grow in popularity, many on Salt Spring Island have inadvertent collections of idle or end-of-life batteries languishing in their homes –– and that’s a safety problem, according to island firefighters.
Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue Chief Jamie Holmes told the district’s fire board a blaze last month on Collins Road exemplified the need for precautions when storing lithium-ion batteries. A smouldering battery pack under that home’s deck was fortunately noticed by occupants who extinguished the fire before crews arrived. Had it happened at night, he said, or when no one was home, the outcome could have been quite different.
Holmes said fire officials have seen an increase in lithium-ion battery fires –– not just on Salt Spring, but across the province, as the battery packs power everything from scooters to cell phones. And while the potential for electric vehicle fires gets a lot of attention, the sheer number of batteries in everyday devices starts to stack up –– and presents a hazard when batteries are not disposed of or stored properly.
“Really they become problematic when they start to get old, and past their cycle,” said Holmes, briefing trustees of the Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District Monday, Oct. 21.
“A lot of times when people have an old battery pack, they’ll just kind of toss it in the basement or under the shed or somewhere –– and that’s when they can be at the most dangerous.”
And while the presence of lithium-ion batteries can make an already-burning fire harder to extinguish, Holmes also said that as old batteries start to break down, they can potentially ignite on their own.
B.C.’s Office of the Fire Commissioner is working on public safety messaging, according to Holmes, but in the meantime, local firefighters are trying to spread the word.
“It’s a good reminder for everybody, that as our lives go more toward using batteries, we have to take care of them when they’re done,” said Holmes. “I know I used to have a big drawer of old cell phones with all the batteries still in them.”
Holmes said if residents are keeping the old batteries around, they should at minimum be stored in a metal box.
“Rather than just underneath old papers and everything else,” chuckled Holmes.
“And they do take them at the recycling depot.”