DANIEL, Wyo. — Sublette County Unified Fire (SCUF) was mobilized Tuesday morning to respond to a lithium-ion battery charger that had exploded inside of a home in Daniel.
According to SCUF, the residents of the home were sitting on their couch when they noticed a strange smell coming from their lithium battery charger, which was located on a nearby glass table. They noticed it was hot to the touch, so they moved it to the rug next to the front door, where it got hotter and began generating sparks, which traveled 6 to 8 inches. Then, it exploded. The couple threw a quilt over the charger, wrapped it in an additional blanket and tossed it outside.
“It burned a big black spot in the floor,” SCUF Deputy Chief Bob Kladianos said in a statement. “An hour after the incident, the charger still registered 300 degrees. … Had this happened at night, or if they had left the house, things could have ended very differently.”
SCUF volunteer firefighters from Pinedale and Daniel responded to the incident after the 8:24 a.m. call. According to the agency, explosions like these are becoming a more common occurrence, caused by physical damage, electrical damage, product defects and extreme temperatures. Components in these batteries and their chargers generate huge amounts of energy and can release toxic fumes if anything goes even slightly wrong.
“We would advise people that if they buy this type of item, they get something tested and approved by Underwriter Laboratories,” said Kladianos. “The problem is we are getting cheap imports and that’s why this is happening.”
SCUF noted that its firefighters wore self-contained breathing apparatus gear to enter the home, and one of the home’s residents had difficulty breathing after inhaling fumes. Firefighters implemented positive pressure ventilation to clear fumes from the structure.
When charging lithium-ion batteries, do not leave them unattended. Cell phones, portable tools, Bluetooth speakers and e-bikes frequently run on these batteries. Locally, a handful of incidents related to batteries have occurred. Jackson Hole Fire/EMS shared some battery safety and storage tips with Buckrail last year.
