Duck decoy battery suspected in two-home St. Thomas fire

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A replacement lithium battery in a duck decoy appears to have been the cause of a fire that gutted a St. Thomas home and severely damaged the one next door.

Firefighters raced to the home on Penhale Avenue in the city’s south end just after 7 p.m. Sunday,  following several 911 calls about a house fire, said St. Thomas fire prevention officer Shannon Ashton.

When firefighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames that had extended to the neighbour’s house.

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Both families were home at the time and were able to get out safely, including their pets.

The homeowner said he was charging a lithium polymer battery in a duck decoy in his garage that he used for hunting. The battery was a replacement bought from Amazon, not the original.

The battery caught fire. Also stored in the garage were propane tanks, spray paint cans and gas cans that fueled the blaze.

While Ashton could not provide a dollar loss from the blaze, she said there was extensive damage at the house where the fire originated and damage to the siding and attic of the neighbouring home.

“Generally, lithium batteries are safe and stable but when they get overheated, they can catch fire and self-ignite,” Ashton said.

Widely used in many electronics and small appliances, from cell phones and tablets to e-scooters and lawn mowers, lithium-ion batteries have been implicated in a growing number of fires in Canada, triggering public safety warnings by fire departments and others. The rechargeable batteries have grown in popularity amid the demand for smaller and more powerful electrical supply for devices.

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The batteries can catch fire by overheating, which triggers a so-called “thermal runaway” chain reaction that leads to fast-spreading flames that are difficult to put out.

Even leaving a cell phone battery charging overnight when you sleep, rather than by day when you’re awake and can monitor it, has been flagged by some as a safety concern.

Safety groups stress that correct chargers should always be used with lithium ion batteries and that aging ones should be replaced and cheap, uncertified ones avoided.

In St. Thomas, firefighters removed the decoy batteries and took them back to the fire hall “because they can still hold the charge and still be a fire hazard days later,” Ashton said.

Ashton said it’s important to remember not to overload electrical sockets and power bars. If batteries need replacing, it’s better to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation and not order off a website because “you don’t really know what you’re getting or where it is coming from.”

The fire department plans a safety campaign soon about lithium ion batteries, “because we keep seeing more and more of these,” she said.

– With Postmedia files

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