Fire officials confirmed a small-to-medium-sized battery started a house fire on Maliview Drive last week, and everyone was out of the home safely before fire crews arrived.
Nearly two dozen firefighters and eight apparatus responded to the fire call just after 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13. As the Driftwood was heading to press, fire crews arrived at 308 Maliview to find smoke pouring out of attic vents — and both residents and pets were safe outside, according to Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) Assistant Chief Mitchell Sherrin.
“Fire was just starting to breach the access hatch into the attic when we arrived,” said Sherrin. “A few more minutes and the fire would’ve taken hold in the attic, and we very likely would have lost the house.”
A lithium battery power supply being charged was the culprit, according to Sherrin, who said the fire was slowed thanks to quick thinking by one of the residents.
“One of the things about lithium battery fires is they can grow quite quickly, and alarmingly,” said Sherrin, adding that the resident immediately saw the fire was too big to fight with his own extinguisher and “wisely” retreated.
“He kept a cool head, and he immediately closed all the doors to the fire room,” said Sherrin. “That helped to confine the blaze and buy us time by starving the fire of oxygen.”
SSIFR crews were on scene within 11 minutes of the call, according to Sherrin, and used minimal water — 60 gallons — to extinguish the fire. A positive-pressure fan was used to remove extensive smoke from the building. Fire damage was significant, he added, but confined to the room where the fire started.
Firefighters searched the rest of the house with a thermal imaging camera for signs of persistent fire, leaving the scene at 7:30 p.m.
Two other emergency calls — a vehicle crash, and a medical emergency — took place around the same time as the fire, according to Sherrin, keeping crews busy.
Sherrin reminded islanders to use safe practices with all rechargeable batteries — following manufacturer’s device-specific instructions, and using chargers certified by accredited safety bodies. Further safety tips from Health Canada include allowing batteries to come to room temperature before charging, not charging devices on soft surfaces that can trap cooling air, and not exceeding a device or battery’s recommended charging time.
