Tatum Todd
oregonlive.com
(TNS)
Two separate fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries on Thursday displaced 11 Portlanders from their homes and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, fire officials said in a statement.
Both fires were caused by the commonplace batteries experiencing catastrophic “thermal runaway” reactions, as happened in Portland last month when an e-scooter battery set an apartment on fire, Portland Fire & Rescue said.
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When thermal runaway reactions happen in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries — such as the ones typically found in phones, laptop computers, toys, tools, scooters and e-bicycles — it causes the battery to uncontrollably heat up, risking an explosion or a fire.
While thermal runaways usually happen when batteries are being charged, they can happen while they’re unplugged too — as occurred in one of Thursday’s two Portland fires, officials reported.
The first of the two fires broke out in a Southwest Portland neighborhood around 7 a.m. and displaced three people, the fire department said. The second fire happened close to midnight in Southeast Portland and burned an apartment building badly enough that it displaced eight people living there.
Defects that cause overheating in lithium-ion batteries only affect a small number of devices. Still, Portland Fire & Rescue said that to help avoid battery-caused fires you shouldn’t charge devices under pillows or furniture, and you should keep batteries away from flammable items and avoid using batteries that appear damaged in any way.
Anyone with damaged batteries can learn more about safely disposing of them on the city of Portland’s website.
— Tatum Todd covers crime and public safety. Reach them at [email protected] or 503-221-4313.
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