Press release from the City of Toronto
News Release
June 25, 2024
Toronto Fire Services, in partnership with the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, launched a lithium-ion battery public safety and education campaign called “This is Your Warning” that highlights the fire risks associated with lithium-ion batteries in micromobility devices such as e-bikes.
In 2023, the number of lithium-ion battery-related fires in Toronto increased by 90 per cent compared to 2022. Already this year, there have been 15 fires involving lithium-ion batteries; seven of those fires were related to micromobility devices.
Lithium-ion batteries power many devices including smart phones, laptops, e-bikes and toys. They are generally safe but can pose a significant risk if not handled carefully. Lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small amount of space and they can pose potential fire safety hazards if not used properly.
To prevent lithium-ion battery related fires, the City’s public education campaign will share information on the risks associated with tampering or using uncertified batteries and why it’s important to safely charge and properly store and dispose of batteries.
Tips on how to use lithium-ion batteries safely:
- Keep the lithium-ion battery in sight while charging
- Never tamper with or modify a battery.
- Only use certified, manufacturer-approved batteries.
- Stop using the lithium-ion battery and contact the manufacturer if there are any of the following problem signs.
o Odour
o Change in colour
o Too much heat
o Change in shape
o Leaking
o Odd noises - Dispose of old or damaged batteries at a City Drop-off Depot or at a Community Environment Day.
Visit the City’s lithium-ion Battery webpage to learn more about the campaign and lithium-ion battery fire safety.
Quote:
“Lithium-ion batteries are commonplace for us all as they are in use in a wide variety of devices that are part of our daily lives, such as e-scooters and e-bikes. This modern convenience is coupled with the risk of devastating fires. Today, in partnership with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office and the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, we launch a new fire safety campaign to educate on the potential hazards associated with lithium-ion batteries and empower residents in Toronto and across the province with the knowledge to safeguard themselves, their property, and others.”
– Matthew Pegg, Chief, Toronto Fire Services
Toronto is home to more than three million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation and climate action, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter , Instagram or Facebook .
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Well Duuh! Batteries on BEVs are even larger, and really should not be recharged around residences?
Interesting, no mention of electric vehicles other than scooters & bikes.
Sure they mentioned them….toys. EVs are dangerous toys.
The article does say of 15 fires, 7 were in micro-mobility devices. Wonder about the other 8. Any macro-mobility devices?
Thanks, I blew right by that factoid. “Look here, don’t look there” is a tried & true propaganda technique. The other 8 were probably cars. Well, what else could it be?
They could be phones and laptops.
Even worse than bikes and scooters which are probably outside.
A lot of apartment dwellers have at most, a balcony, that is “outside”.
Micromobility devices commonly use low grade cells with minimal or now battery management system.
If you are worried, try to find a system that uses LFP batteries. They have lower fire risk. LFP battery market share is rapidly increasing, because of this and because they are lower cost. The tradeoff is that they are a little heavier.
Think of your neighbours!
Recent UK fire ravaged a whole terrace.
https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/fire-triggers-warning-about-lithium-ion-battery-safety/
Then there’s the repeated grid scale battery storage fires and home (powerwall type) fires.
Fuel, oxidizer, and potential ignition source all in the same container…we’re lucky they’re as safe as they are since we hold cellphones to our ear….
And put hearing aids IN or behind our ears!
I’ve had them for half a year. Love them. Never give much thought to them catching on fire! I better not think of it anymore.
The batteries on hearing aids are so tiny, that even if they did catch on fire, you might not notice anything beyond the hearing aid heating up a bit.
and the stench of burning ear hair 🙁
Love mine. They connect to the mob phone and TV.
You’re a “made” guy?
Stil gagging on that last smugly self-congratulatory, irrelevant yet exaggerated and hollow virtue signaling paragraph.
I noticed the “leader in … climate action“. 🙂
I gather Ontario has just become one of the “have not” provinces, eligible for “transfer payments” from Alberta.
1st tip “Keep the lithium-ion battery in sight while charging” is a non starter.
The need is for a “fix” to the fire-starting characteristic of the batteries.
Don’t you just love the term “micromobility devices”? Autos will NOT be charged in the bathroom or kitchen – being macro-devices. Scooters and bikes – where else?
At the robot combat events I participate in, they ALL have a rule that someone MUST be present at all times when a battery is being charged. AND that the battery must be in a charging bag (designed specifically for this)
I’ve seen several battery fires at these events, and not all of them during combat.
Run around in your ev during the day.
Stay up all night watching it recharge!
Do you trust your AI servant?
One e solution – many problems
We recently updated our condo strata by-laws to totally ban li-ion battery powered mobility devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters from the entire property.
We used the fact that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) had banned e-bikes & scooters from their headquarters to convince our condo owners about the fire dangers.
NREL would never ban battery cars, of course, they are too much a part of the green worldview. Battery cars get primo parking spots in the big parking garage with free charging.
E-bike fires in the offices were apparently a bit hard to ignore.
O/T. How the BBC works
Express.co.uk can exclusively reveal on Wednesday night (June 26) the General Election debate, which saw Rishi Sunakand Sir Keir Starmer go head to head, had an audience sourced through a marketing company.
The 150 strong group, who were all told not to heckle, were each paid £150 “disturbance money” and £30 towards their expenses meaning £27,000 of licence payers’ money went paying them.
Alongside the people in the studio there were 15-20 people in reserve who didn’t make it on screen but who were equally compensated, meaning up to another £3,600 was spent to reward this group.
This fee is on top of what the BBC pay their third-party company Savanta to source the audience. Savanta in turn outsourced the job to another market research company called Roots.
A source who was in the audience explained how they were approached. They have previously been paid to work on projects for Roots so they were on the company mailing list….
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1916186/BBC-Election-Debate-audience-paid
I’m always concerned that my drone batteries will catch fire and burn the house down.
Don’t drone
I have a couple of DJI drones. The batteries left on permanent charge will fail and the batteries not charged will fail. Lose-lose.
Story tip.
Will an EV mandate destroy the Canadian auto industry and impose serious harm on the Canadian economy? There’s a simple way to tell: if the government concludes, based on trends in vehicle sales data, that a mandate is necessary to force consumers to switch, the answer is yes.
https://financialpost.com/opinion/ev-mandates-dont-make-economic-sense
Lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small amount of space and they can pose potential fire safety hazards if not used properly.
Minor correction: they can pose potential fire safety hazards even if properly used.
Yes, spontaneous combustion seems to be a feature, not a bug.
Sounds like they’re setting up (intermittent) “Community Bonfire Days”!
How are lithium ion batteries disposed of? You can’t just take them to the dump, where do they go?
I lived in Sacramento, CA for years. There is a state wide law, perhaps also federal law, against putting any battery in the trash. A compliance campaign provided a list of a dozen or maybe two dozen places one could drop off batteries for “proper” disposal.
I checked out every location listed. All had the same policy, not dependent upon law. They only accepted rechargeable batteries, meaning there was no lawful place to dispose of used general purpose batteries such as carbon-zinc and alkaline batteries. Lead acid vehicle batteries were taken in by every establishment that sold new ones — for a hefty fee.
Kittitas County WA allows drop-off of batteries, but I have no idea what they do with them.
Still, I suspect many small batteries, such as for flashlights, clocks, and (perhaps) hand-tools get sent to a land fill.
Our trash goes to a “transfer station” where it is compacted and sent 70 miles to a landfill.
The compaction brings up the question of damage, but I have not heard that these spent devices can or do cause fires. 🤔
From the EPA:
Handling precautions: Place each battery in separate plastic bags or place non-conductive tape (e.g., electrical tape) over the battery’s terminals or around the entire button. A lithium battery may spark and cause fires if damaged or the terminal ends touch. If the battery becomes damaged, contact the manufacturer for specific handling information.
EPA recommendation: Check for the word “lithium” marked on the battery. Do not put button-cell, coin, or lithium single use batteries in the trash or municipal recycling bins. Find a recycling location near you.
The nearest lithium battery recycling center to me is 20 miles away. After I put plastic bags around each battery and drive 40 miles to recycle them, what is the total savings in CO2 that I achieved by using the batteries in the first place?
From the EPA:
Can’t help but wonder how many people actually follow any of that. I wouldn’t bet its a majority.
Sort of the reverse of 97%, meaning 3% or less.
battery disposal laws are in no way related to CO2.
I have lithium batteries for a camera. I charge them in a fireproof container and store them in a different one. Given the potential fire hazard, I’m worried about industrial scale lithium for energy storage. One of those going up will look like those Russian refineries burning.
Just reading about former NFL wide receiver Randall Cobb’s Tesla experience. Cobb was Aaron Rodgers’ favorite receiver for a long time – played in both Green Bay and New York.
Apparently, he left his Tesla charging in the garage this week and it set fire to his house. He and his wife got out and he managed to rescue the family dog, but the house was soon engulfed.
“Watching” batteries as they charge? Whether it’s a phone or a car, I don’t think that’s serious advice.
What are the virtue-signallers with Teslas going to do when insurance companies start denying coverage for EV mishaps? If you have a mortgage, you have to have insurance that’s up to a certain standard. Banks will require EV insurance riders and they will not come cheap.
Being in a flood zone requires a rider on your policy. In some regions, owning a pool requires a rider. How long until owning an EV requires a rider.
I can see “improper storage” of a micromobility device being a disqualifying event.
Story Tip
Apparently it’s not just the batteries that are dangerous, looks like the chargers are also fire hazards.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nfl-receiver-randall-cobb-family-lucky-alive-after-escapeing-house-fire-started-tesla-charger
Yikes — hopefully UL (Underwriters’ Lab) will notice and give it the attention it deserves.
It isn’t clear if the car was being charged or whether the device burned on its own.
Could also have been a faulty installation.
A number of golf club clubhouses in Australia have burnt down due to battery on charge failure of electric golfbag carts (like Powercaddy and MGI). We’re no longer allowed to leave batteries on our carts stored in the clubhouse.
“electric golf carts”?
Loooxury!!
We had to walk 36 holes, all uphill, before dawn, wearing nothing but $2 dollar store one-size-fits all left-foot-only pink thongs on our feet.
Yay! Toronto is a leader in Climate Action!
I live in Toronto and have no idea what anybody here is doing ‘for the climate’ other than the stupid Trudeau carbon tax (which is Federal and has nothing to do with the City). Maybe voting for the dimwit counts as being a ‘leader in climate action’?
They lead by “caring” more than anyone else.