JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Fire and Rescue crews went door to door Friday morning in an E-Town neighborhood making sure people are educated on the risks of lithium batteries and how they can catch fire.
The effort came after a home in the Nobel Community of E-Town was destroyed Wednesday morning when lithium batteries on a golf cart caught fire in the garage.
Evan Orth said he had no idea just how many lithium batteries he had before JFRD came through his neighborhood.
“We know that we have some in our lawnmower here at our home, and we leave it plugged in all the time,” Orth said. “So to hear that -- my wife Caitlyn unplugged it immediately.”
Some other things that contain lithium batteries are:
- Cellphones
- Scooters
- E-bikes
- Cordless tools
“It shows all the different things that have lithium batteries in it -- like a computer. I didn’t even know that,” Evan Orth said.
JFRD Capt. Eric Prosswimmer said you need to be careful about lithium batteries getting overheated. If they’re even hot to the touch they can go into thermal runaway and release toxic gases that rapidly ignite a burn.
“In Florida what happens in the heat of summer, you leave it on the seat or dashboard, the sun’s heating down, that car gets extremely hot, the battery gets hot, there lies your problem,” Prosswimmer said.
Other advice from JFRD on how to avoid fires from these batteries include:
- Don’t charge a device under your pillow
- Always use the manufacturers cord or power adapter made specifically for the device
- If batteries become wet do not use or charge them
- Always use batteries meant for your device
JFRD is hoping to educate more people to make sure what happened to the home on Fulcrum Avenue doesn’t happen to anyone else.
If your battery is smoking or you notice an odor or change in shape, leaking or you hear noises coming from the device, stop using it and move it away from anything that can catch fire.
Most importantly, call 911.