Garage Fire in McKinleyville Last Night After Battery Overheated
Press release from the Arcata Fire District:
Arcata Fire District was dispatched to a residential structure fire at 8:10 PM Monday evening. One Battalion Chief and one engine responded from the McKinleyville Fire Station with two additional engines responding from Mad River and Arcata Stations.
When firefighters from the McKinleyville Station arrived, they found the family waiting in front of the house and reporting fire in the garage. Smoke was emitting from the garage and attic vents on the house. The fire wall separating the garage and living area was doing its job and holding the fire in the garage. Firefighters cut through the large garage door using a rotary saw as other firefighters prepared to spray water on the fire. Once firefighters cut through the garage door, they found fire burning in one corner of the garage and quickly extinguished the fire.
As additional firefighters arrived, they were sent inside of the home to see if fire had spread to the attic. Firefighters found smoke in the attic, which was quickly removed. Battalion Chief Campbell reports, “The fire wall did what it was designed to do and prevented fire spread into the house. The homeowners also did a great job. They discovered the fire, got everyone out, immediately called 911, and waited in front of the house for firefighters to arrive. This allowed us to quickly focus on fire extinguishment and not rescue.”
Damage is estimated at $60,000. The fire started when a lithium battery that was being charged overheated and ignited.
Arcata Fire District would like to remind the community, one of the best things a person can do if they discover a fire is to isolate it by closing doors. This prevents the fire from growing rapidly because it needs oxygen to grow.
Arcata Fire District was dispatched to a residential structure fire at 8:10 PM Monday evening. One Battalion Chief and one engine responded from the McKinleyville Fire Station with two additional engines responding from Mad River and Arcata Stations.
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“The fire started when a lithium battery that was being charged overheated and ignited.” Was this battery in an Ipod, a cordless tool battery or in a Tesla?
The charger for my Makita batteries will stop charging and cool the battery off if it is too hot.
some makita chargers (even brand new ones) dont have the fans but they should still not charge if they are too hot
Mine have always had fans. I have had the Li-ion setup for 10+ years now.
i was shocked when i saw my friends new kit and the charger didnt have the fan. it doesnt even have the same plastic mold, like there are no holes where the fan pushed the air through. he got a two piece brushless kit. the batteries still have the air vents
Strange. New design, I guess. Over the years I have had 5 or 6 chargers, including the dual battery chargers, and all have had cool down fans.
all mine as well. i too have the dual battery deal for a hedger. great hedger. i didnt notice it until we were working together and i put his battery on the charger and i didnt hear the fan come on so i checked it out. luckily my other friend had an old charger with the fan deal and gave it to my other friend so now he is hooked up
Is this what happens when you hook your Tesla up to a 19$ tractor supply charger?
Joke aside, the Tractor Supply charger wouldn’t have enough power to do much to the Tesla batteries… certainly not overheat them.
especially since the Tesla battery is about 400 volts, not 12.
Well, sort of. The battery pack is high voktage, but it is made up of 2 volt (nominal) cells just like a 12VDC battery is made up of 6x 2VDC cells.
This is a common issue for LiPo batteries used in RC toys too. Most often it happens when the charger is not correctly matched, or set up, for the specific battery. Improper charging of lithium batteries can be catastrophic.
I’d like to know the brand and type of battery so it doesn’t happen to any of the rest of us in the future. These type of things often happen with random precision, I think.
A couple of years ago I used an electric plug-in Worx leaf blower and vacuum. Putting it away in the garage, it caught fire after 10 minutes. I was so fortunate to notice it and get it out in time before any real damage occurred. The company seemed to be aware of the problem and told me to throw it away, blaming it on the extension cord I used. I found that hard to believe.
They sent me a new Worx leaf blower and vacuum as a token of goodwill. I still think they’re dangerous. I don’t use it.
the tools look lime green in the photo of the garage.
Hitachi, Ryobi, Festool, or a Chinese knock-off.
Battery in question might of been a Li-Po and not a straight lithium. These are notorious for igniting when allowed to run to low and get out of balance with the rest of the pack. Resulting in a thermal run away.
These types of batteries are used for Quadcopters (drones), rc cars, and other hobbyist electronics.
If your charging batteries like these its best to do them outdoors, and make a firebox for them. So that if they do ignite the fire will not spread. Staying contained, so that it can burn itself out (can’t really extinguish them once they start)
Whoa. I had no idea tool batteries could ignite. I’ve left my drill battery plugged in for weeks at a time. And a marine battery (??). No fan on either.
Yes, it would be nice to know what kind of battery it was if anyone from the fire dept is reading this…
There are “samrt” and “dumb” chargers. The former monitor voltage and adjust to absorb, bulk and float voltages to properly maintain a battery it is charging.; the latter just puts out a constant voltage and will ruin a battery if left on for long periods… and perhaps overheat.