An ebike that was being charged next to a garage sparked a structure fire this morning.
Orillia firefighters received a call at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday with the report of a home on fire on West Street North.
"When the crew arrived, they found heavy fire in an attached garage extending into the wall and soffit of the house," said Orillia Deputy Fire Chief Chris Ferry.
He said firefighters were able to contain the fire to the garage and exterior wall and soffit of the two-storey brick home.
There were no injuries reported. Ferry was not sure on the dollar-value of the damage to the home, located at the top of West Street North, near the intersection with Commerce Road.
Ferry said 12 firefighters, along with Simcoe County paramedics and Orillia OPP officers were on the scene this morning.
During the blaze, Ramara Township's fire department ensured there was coverage for any further calls in the city.
This is the third recent fire in Orillia that originated from a charging lithium battery.
On June 1, an ebike fire caused $40,000 in damages at a Barrie Road apartment complex.
On June 7, a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) charger fire sparked a blaze in a Forest Avenue home.
Orillia's chief fire prevention officer, Terry Duff, says lithium batteries caused both of those fires in June. He says the best way to prevent a lithium battery fire is by using an original equipment manufacturer charger.
"If you have an Apple product, you should be using an Apple charger, not a Dollar Store charger," he cautioned. "There are things in those chargers that cause it to charge too fast."
When a lithium battery device charges too fast, heat builds up, and the separators in between each cell break down, Duff explained.
"When the separator breaks down it causes thermal runaway," Duff said. "It causes the battery to overheat and eventually catch fire and explode."
Duff says lithium batteries can be "in anything" from motor scooters, cars, phones, tablets, and laptops.
"They are even in CPAP machines," he said. "Once a lithium battery is exposed to heat, it's not a matter of if it will catch fire, it's when."
Duff says lithium battery products should never be charged on a bed.
"Make sure it's a hard surface," he said. "Make sure it's not beside your head; put it on a counter top that's hard ... that's not going to have damage."
Duff also warns against lithium battery users overcharging their devices.
"Don't charge it over and over again," he said. "It weakens that cell down in between the protector."
Ferry said fires involving anything with a lithium-ion battery are "harder to extinguish and take large volumes of water to extinguish and cool."
He noted that even once such a fire is extinguished, "we have to continually cool the batteries as they can generate heat and smoulder for extended periods of time."
Ferry said battery-powered cars and trucks can take upwards of 30,000 gallons of water to extinguish and cool.
Duff encourages people to monitor their devices and pay attention to function abilities.
"If a laptop is really hot, that means there is something wrong with the battery," he said. "You could have the wrong charger."
Duff says it's equally as important to take care of lithium battery products.
"Don't abuse the batteries," he said. "Dropping them is damaging. Treat your cell phones nicely because if you drop or bend them, it can be a hazard."
When it comes to electric vehicle and scooter batteries, Duff says you should never use an extension cord to charge them.
"It should be a direct plug-in," he said. "If you live in an apartment building, you shouldn't be plugging them in from the apartment. If you have to bring it into your apartment, make sure it’s away from the exit door."
-- With files from Tyler Evans
