Unplugged lithium-ion battery spontaneously combusts, destroying Auckland home.
An Auckland woman is warning of the dangers of lithium-ion batteries after her house was engulfed in flames.
Morgan Cramp’s three-bedroom Meadowbank home, which she shared with her partner, two young children and their dog Darcy, was destroyed in a fire on July 14.
Fire investigators later ruled the blaze was caused by the spontaneous combustion of a lithium-ion battery from a drill, located under a workbench.
It was the 35th house fire caused by a battery in New Zealand this year.
Cramp said the battery wasn’t charging, nor was it attached to the drill.
Morgan Cramp’s three-bedroom Meadowbank home, said:
It was like a ticking time bomb.
She said she saw smoke coming from the basement when she got home that afternoon. She thought it was water evaporating because it had been raining that day.
However, as soon as she opened her car door, she could smell smoke straight away.
“I knew something was on fire, so I ran downstairs to the basement and there it was. It was quite small at the time, I managed to call 111 while I ran upstairs to get a glass of water to try and put it out.”
“Later on, firefighters told me that you can’t put out a battery fire like that with water.”
When she went back downstairs, the fire had got bigger.
She chucked Darcy into the car and drove up the driveway as quickly as she could.
“There was an indescribable amount of black smoke filling the sky and because it started from the basement, the entire house was in flames so quickly.”
“The biggest trigger was the explosions I could hear, when I was trying to push the dog in the car. It just happened so fast.”
Cramp and her family were now in a rental unit in Glen Innes while their home was rebuilt.
She said had she known how dangerous the lithium-ion battery was, she would have stored it in the shed, away from their home.
“We would still have our house … never would I have thought that a battery would do this.”
“At no point, when I first saw the smoke, did I think that our entire home would be ablaze.”
Fire and Emergency Services risk and investigations manager Todd O’Donoghue said lithium-ion batteries – which are used in devices like smartphones, ebikes, laptops and ecigarettes – had been the cause of a number of fires.
The causes of those fires varied, with some being a faulty product design or mechanical operating failures. Other causes include carelessness when handling the item, like leaving it close to a heat source.
“Make sure you don’t charge a device under a pillow, don’t leave devices in direct sunlight and only use the battery and charger that is designed for the device – all of these things can cause the device to overheat and cause a fire.”
“It’s also important to never dispose of lithium-ion batteries in the rubbish, as if it is defective, it could cause a fire. Recycling is the best option.”
Cramp, however, wanted people to know that even when not charging or exposed to a heat source, batteries could still be dangerous.
“I tell people our fire was caused by a battery and they say they’ll be careful not to leave their devices and appliances on charge. But our battery wasn’t even charging, it was just sitting there.”
“It’s been a very traumatic experience, not just losing your home and all your things, but to witness your home burning down too.”
“My senses are extremely heightened now and I’m very aware and frightened of any appliance. Even the smell of toast frightens me.”
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Unplugged lithium-ion battery spontaneously combusts, destroying Auckland home, August 20, 2022
