WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A rise in lithium-ion battery-related fires has Palm Beach County Fire Rescue sending out a warning.
Many of the hottest gifts — from electric cars to drones, hoverboards and smaller remote-controlled toys — are powered by lithium-ion batteries.
WPTV is highlighting what's become a major issue for local firefighters as these vehicles and toys spontaneously burst into flames.
"Ninety-nine percent of the batteries that are rechargeable are based off of a lithium-ion design," Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Division Chief Fire Marshall David DeRita said.
"How big of an issue are lithium-ion batteries right now?" WPTV reporter Joel Lopez asked.
"[It's] probably the most prevalent issue ... in the fire service that we've had nationally and internationally," DeRita said. "As a fire marshal, I'm putting them probably at the top of my list of hazardous fires that we could have as a homeowner."
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, along with the Solid Waste Authority and the Home Chemical Recycling Center, posted signs warning of the dangers of the batteries in places like the Tanger Outlets, which was filled with Black Friday shoppers.
"The shopping has been great. I'm looking for an iPad mini," Laura Fine, who lives near Boynton Beach, said.
Fine said she's also looking for new phones and other gadgets and saw the warning signs about the batteries.
"Do you know much about lithium-ion batteries?" asked Lopez.
"Not that much, but I do know that I've seen stories about them going up in flames on plans," Fine said.
DeRita said they would see one or two lithium-ion-related calls every couple of months, but they are now getting at least one fire a week.
One of the latest calls was to a home west of Boca Raton when an e-bike caught fire in the back patio of a house.
The bike wasn't even plugged in.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said the melted remains of the e-bike along with multiple damaged batteries were found within the fire debris.
No one was home at the time of the fire, and it didn't spread further after a security officer saw the flames called 911.
"Have the assumption that these are electrical devices, and they can and will fail," DeRita said. "Who, what, where and when, we don't know."
He said not to leave electronics charging unattended and to unplug them once charged.
"These fires spread more rapidly than anything a consumer will see," DeRita said. "It's very very difficult to put out."
This is why he said never to leave devices charging near anything flammable.
"It's always a life safety risk, we don't want to make people paranoid," DeRita said. "We're trying to educate them and be smarter."
Another tip is to buy a battery or charger that a manufacturer recommends and to avoid cheaper alternatives.
"The way that after-market products can become cheaper and are cheaper is if you lessen the material," DeRita said. "You get what you pay for."
Another issue according to DeRita has been battling electric vehicle fires. He said when lithium catches fire, it generates oxygen, feeding the flames.
"When you're dealing with an EV, an electric vehicle of any manufacturer, we carry 750 gallons (of water) on the majority of our engines," DeRita said. "It's thousands of gallons of water for a fully engulfed EV fire."
He said they're working alongside the University of Miami, medical researchers and fire investigators about the runoff that comes from spraying water on lithium metal fires from EV vehicles and the cancer impacts this may have on first responders.
