At 3pm on Friday, Nov.14th Madawaska Valley Fire Department was dispatched to the 600 block of Arbor Vitae Road for a fully engulfed structure. Both North and South Fire Halls responded to the call and within just twenty minutes there were 21 firefighters on the scene, along with two pumpers, two tankers and two rescue trucks. Upon arrival, firefighters noted that the blaze had already spread through the roof. (All photos MV Fire Dept.)
Because the building was structurally unstable and firefighters could not enter the unsafe structure, MV Fire Dept. undertook a defensive attack and worked at the fire scene for four and a half hours. No persons (including firefighters) were injured, but a dog and three cats perished in the fire.
The owner of the house was at home and became aware of a chemical smell. He then noticed a haze / smoke coming from the heating vent. Upon investigation, he discovered a fire in a basement bedroom and attempted to put it out with a fire extinguisher. After emptying the extinguisher, he went to get a second one but upon his return the fire had grown too big for him to deal with.
MV Fire Chief Corwin Quade said the fire was accidental in nature and its suspected cause was a lithium battery. He issued the following warning to the public:
About lithium batteries
Please be extremely careful when charging a lithium battery. These batteries can explode and engulf an entire room in seconds. This can result in serious injury or even death. Make sure not to over charge batteries, and make sure charging cords and batteries have been CSA approved. Lithium batteries are extremely hard to extinguish as the battery has to complete the thermal runaway cycle.
More new stuff to worry about:- you can find more safety info online by searching “Why do lithium batteries explode?”.
Apparently the electrolyte in lithium batteries is non-aqueous and quite flammable:- can you say “ethylene carbonate”, etc?,
plus lithium metal itself is very reactive and reacts explosively with both water and air and even the humidity in air so spraying water on them just accelerates a lithium fire. Researchers are working on solid-state lithium batteries which will be non-explosive but we’re not there yet. In the meantime it’s best to store them in the designated temperature range, per safety sheet, and away from flammable things:- batteries alone could be stored in a metal garbage can to contain any spontaneous explosion. Basically you need to treat them much like a jerry can of gasoline except that they also do not like being kept in freezing temperatures so store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources and preferably at 5-20d C. Lithium batteries are well-made and carefully tested but it takes only a minor defect or aberration to trigger a catastrophic breakdown and explosion.