A fireplace triggered when batteries from a lawnmower and weedwhacker consumed a house in Strathcona County, east of Edmonton, Alta. earlier this month are a stark reminder of the dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries.
The home-owner escaped unhurt however the home is claimed to be ‘a write-off,’ according to reports from Global News and different retailers following the July 20 fireplace.
In line with information experiences, the batteries had been faraway from their charger and positioned close to the house’s entrance entrance. After the fireplace began, the home-owner reportedly turned a fireplace extinguisher on the batteries, solely to have them reignite after briefly ceasing to burn.
Lithium-ion battery fires are began by a chain reaction within the cells called thermal runaway, which may result in explosions that unfold flames shortly. These fires produce poisonous fumes and are tough to extinguish.
The incident is of concern to insurers and brokers writing home-owner protection as the facility cells are utilized in a plethora of gadgets from cell telephones and computer systems to lawnmowers and electrical scooters and e-bikes.
In line with regional actual property listings for Alberta’s Strathcona County, houses of the sort destroyed within the July 20 fireplace vary in worth from $200,000 to $500,000.
Over the previous yr, e-scooters and e-bikes specifically have been an rising supply of claims and authorized actions as inflationary circumstances spur Canadians to hunt transportation options which are cheaper than vehicles.
Lithium lawsuits
In late January of this yr, a Vancouver lady sued several e-bike manufacturers following an house fireplace that killed her companion. The swimsuit alleges the lithium-ion battery in an e-bike saved of their house began the blaze.
Additional, in late 2023 an e-bike’s lithium-ion battery caught fireplace on a Toronto subway prepare inflicting a station evacuation however no lack of life. Following the incident, Toronto Hearth Providers issued reminders about associated fireplace dangers.
E-scooters and e-bikes even have got here beneath the scrutiny of U.S. regulators following a number of experiences of fires, some lethal, brought on by lithium-ion batteries.
Commenting on the battery fireplace subject earlier this yr, Jeff Weidman, a companion at regulation agency Clyde & Co. in Calgary, famous claims associated to e-scooters hadn’t yet made a large impact in Canada’s court system.
“That is perhaps as a result of they’re new,” he instructed CU. “E-scooters have actually solely been in operation for 3 or 4 years in Canada. It takes some time [for a suit] to make it via our court docket system.
“Keep tuned. I appeared on the U.S. and, like a variety of issues, traits that begin within the U.S. normally make their approach to Canada.”
Recycling dangers
Past residential housing, lithium-ion batteries are additionally proving harmful for operators of commercial amenities, including centres where the power cells are sent for recycling.
Used lithium-ion batteries, notes Adrian Simmonds, apply chief of property threat options at QBE, are at greater threat of catching fireplace than new models.
He says easy points of each day use expose lithium-ion batteries to shaking, influence shock and the opportunity of “being being related to poor-quality or defective chargers, which may set off inside faults that result in thermal runaway.”
Function picture courtesy of iStock/Matt277
