One lithium-ion fire every five hours. That is the load British fire crews carried in 2025: 1,760 fires, a figure that is up 147% over three years and still climbing, ZDNET reported.
Writer Adrian Kingsley-Hughes calls lithium-ion batteries “now one of the leading causes of fires.” The worst offenders, he says, are damaged, misused and poor-quality cells. They sit inside phones, tablets, laptops and e-bikes, and in power stations too, and the sheer number in circulation, plus a flood of cheaper, shoddier gadgets, pushes the fire count up. Summer heat makes it worse.
Numbers from the street and the sky
The U.S. count is 25,000 fires or overheating events across five years, by his tally, from house fires to blazes at waste-processing plants and big battery storage sites. On aircraft the FAA counts nearly 2 weekly lithium-battery fires. In New York, scooters and e-bikes started hundreds of fires last year, and some killed people. In Britain, e-bikes were behind nearly a third of the year’s battery blazes, and bikes fitted with an aftermarket motor and power pack were riskier than factory-built ones. Vapes have drawn the attention of insurers and regulators.
Why they burn
The mechanism is thermal runaway. The cell warms quicker than it can cool, and the extra heat feeds a chain reaction that ends in smoldering, flames or an explosion. Kellie Murphy-Ringate, a fire marshal in Excelsior, described it to a Minnesota outlet: damage from a drop, a puncture or overcharging lets the cell create its own heat, “and then once that fire starts, it produces its own oxygen.”
Causes include punctures and crushing, and use of damaged or incompatible chargers and cables. Cheap replacement cords worry her most. Bought at a dollar store or truck stop, they are knockoffs that are “not UL tested and they are cheap,” she said. Her advice: charge on a hard, flat surface, not a pillow or blanket, and unplug when the display reads 100% charge.
A battery often warns first. Look for unusual heat, an acrid or sweet chemical smell, or hissing, crackling and popping.
Waste plants feel it first
Bill Keegan of the waste company Dem-Con says lithium-ion cells have changed his industry. Its staff see dozens of batteries daily, and two to three fires a month. It has added heat-seeking cameras and foam-fighting cannons. One battery, he says, “will burn a facility down and could harm our employees.” He wants clearer labels, since the symbol on a battery that says recycle is, in his words, “really confusing.” Industry leaders are hoping for legislation that makes the message plain, and for old batteries to go to hazardous waste facilities, not into the trash or recycling bin.
If one goes rogue
Kingsley-Hughes’s plan puts people ahead of the device. Put it on a non-flammable surface such as a tray and take it outside, well clear of buildings, vehicles and dry vegetation. Do not touch it with bare hands or shut it in a pocket or a drawer. If there are flames or heavy smoke, phone the emergency services. Use a suitable extinguisher, or plenty of water if the device is not plugged into AC power. On a plane, tell cabin crew at once. In a car, pull over. Stay watchful afterward. A cell may flare up again, even days on.
His recommended kit is an ABC extinguisher, a fire blanket and storage bags made for batteries, from power banks to e-bike packs.
Sources
- Why lithium-ion batteries fail us – and the gadgets I'm relying on to protect myself (ZDNET, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes)
- Growing concern over lithium-ion battery fires (Yahoo News)
