Lithium-ion battery-related fires are “becoming an epidemic”, according to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), after responding to two more blazes in Sydney this morning,
An e-bike burst into flames in an apartment block in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west this morning.
FRNSW were alerted to the explosion this morning at 6:30am, finding an e-bike alight in the living room of an apartment on the third floor.
It is believed the fire occurred after the e-bike’s battery, which was plugged into a generator device, went into thermal runaway.
Thermal runaway is a process where a lithium-ion cell overheats and gives off toxic gases before exploding.
“They can just burn quite fiercely. It’s quite a big fuel load. Very, very difficult to put out, which is why we were here so long,” FRNSW station officer Sav Giannakis said this morning on the fire.
“Even though it’s quite compact, there’s a lot of energy in that battery pack. And when they fail, they fail quite explosively.”
A number of projectiles from the battery were fired across the apartment as a result of the explosion.
About 40 people were evacuated from the 10-storey building, with one male resident receiving superficial burns on his hand from the fire.
A second lithium-ion battery, believed to be from an e-scooter or e-bike, caught fire in the back of a garbage truck in Silverwater in Sydney’s west this morning.
Fire and Rescue said a garbage truck driver noticed smoke coming from the back of the vehicle.
The driver then dumped his load and extinguished the fire.
Several lithium-ion batteries were found in the dumped load.
One had signs of thermal runaway.
Last month, the deaths of two people in Lake Macquarie marked the state’s first casualties from a lithium-ion battery-related fire.
At the time, FRNSW said there had then been 45 related fires recorded in NSW already this year.
Since January 2023, there have been more than 1,000 related fires across the country.
Mr Giannakis said these fires were “becoming an epidemic”, and requested the public to follow measures to mitigate the risk of harm.
“If you’re using [an e-bike], charge them outside. Make sure you’re at home when you are charging them. Don’t leave charged unattended. And don’t leave them inside anywhere near that possible.”
Mr Giannakis also requested that owners use an appropriate charger for the bike, to not touch the motor whatsoever”, and to dispose of bikes properly.
In January, the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) said lithium-ion batteries cause at least three fires in recycling streams every day.
“Check with your local council. That’d be regulations on where you can drop these items off,” Mr Giannakis said.