Lithium batteries continue to cause fires

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One of today’s Western Australia’s news items was on the rise of fires caused by lithium batteries. So far this year there has been 94 fires caused by exploding batteries in such items as laptops, power banks, e-rideables and power tools. E-rideables were responsible for 19 fires. There were forty-nine fires in 2020 and that number has risen to 94 up to August in 2025. To be fair, the number of lithium batteries in use has probably grown substantially too. Another interesting statistic is that almost a third of the fires involved batteries which ignited when they were not charging. The article said batteries could enter ‘thermal runway’, causing them to overheat, explode or emit toxic gas. Over-charging could also lead to battery failure as could poor-quality or damaged batteries. Batteries should be charged on a hard surface and away from flammables such as doonas, carpets and couches. Smoke alarms should be kept up to date, especially in garages where a lot of these types of fires start. I didn’t have a photo of a battery so you’ve got a photo of a kangaroo.