DFES issues warning over leaving lithium-ion battery-powered devices on charge after house fires across WA

Batteries that power e-scooters and other rechargeable items are causing devastating house fires at an alarming rate in WA.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has responded to 70 fires ignited by lithium-ion batteries so far this year, meaning the State is on course to surpass last year’s tally of 110.

Twenty of the blazes were caused by batteries in e-rideables, such as e-scooters.

The sharp rise has prompted a warning from authorities, with footage from a staged house fire sparked by a battery showing the phenomenal speed in which a home can be engulfed.

Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said e-rideables were particularly dangerous when they are overcharged,

“So far across the country this year, New South Wales and Queensland have had deaths as a result of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. I don’t want Western Australians to be next,” he said.

Mr Dawson urged e-rideable owners to closely monitor their devices when they are charging and unplug them once they have reached full capacity.

“It’s important that you don’t leave them on charge overnight,” he said.

“Put an alarm on, keep an eye on it, make sure it is turned off before you go to sleep.

“What we see time and time again is these e-rideables left on charge overnight and these fires start quickly and cause significant damage.”

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said it was important to buy quality-made, reputable batteries and reminded owners to not leave the devices leaning against anything combustible.

“The fire load inside homes these days is far greater than it was,” he said.

“A lot of our furniture and other products are far more combustible.

“So when we’re charging e-rideables or lithium-ion batteries we need to make sure they’re not against anything that’s combustible.”

Commissioner Klemm even warned that leaving mobile phones on charge overnight, or charging a laptop on the bed, also posed a risk.

“I think we’ve all experienced charging a phone and finding the phone gets really hot,” he said.

“I think it’s just a really good practice to get into to make sure you’re not overcharging anything, so when it gets to full charge, take it off the charger.”

Lithium-ion-powered e-scooters are to blame for two house fires this month already.

Last week, a man in his 40s was rushed to Fiona Stanley Hospital with serious burns after his Carlisle home went up in flames.

.Firefighters, police and paramedics rushed to the home on Harris Street after a lithium-ion battery sparked the ferocious blaze.

Later on the same day, a home in Karratha was completely destroyed.

The property was fully engulfed in flames when firefighting crews arrived. Luckily, no one was injured.

In January, an e-vehicle on charge in the garage of an Applecross home sparked a major blaze in the early hours of the morning.

Two e-bikes were charging on the balcony of a Highgate apartment block sparked a major blaze earlier this year, rendering the unit “unliveable”.