Jim Johnstone swallows tears as he peers into the charred remnants of his and wife Maria’s former Sunbury home.
The windows of the three-bedroom, double-storey house in Melbourne’s outer north have been blown out and shards of blackened glass litter the ground. The interior has been stripped bare by an inferno – there are remnants of what once was a couch, a staircase, a kitchen.
Jim Johnstone in the burnt remnants of his Sunbury home.Credit: Chris Hopkins
The blaze started when an unplugged lithium-ion pool cleaner battery exploded on the back verandah while no one was home except for the family pets. It was seven weeks ago but the toxic smell lingers.
Jim and Maria had lived in the house for 12 years, and had lovingly renovated it. In the fire, they lost a pet dog and cat, almost all their possessions and a lifetime of memories.
“We’ve been together for 23 years and there was so much memorabilia in there,” Jim says, his voice breaking.
“You know, we got married with ‘Elvis’ in Vegas – so there were pictures of all that [gone]. Our State of Nevada marriage licence, you know? Pictures from everywhere. All the places you’ve travelled, all that stuff.”
Their story is one of a growing number of lithium-ion battery fires in Victoria.
These energy-dense, rechargeable batteries are in dozens of everyday appliances including laptops, phones, power tools, stick vacuum cleaners, portable speakers, e-cigarettes and, notably, e-bikes and scooters.
Victorian fire authorities are now responding to one lithium-ion battery-related fire a day, up from an estimated one a week last year.
On Friday, 60 people were evacuated from the eight-storey Morgan Apartments building on Flinders Lane after an e-scooter battery exploded, setting fire to a one-bedroom apartment on the seventh floor.
Those inside escaped by squeezing out a window to a downstairs balcony, risking a 10-metre drop to the street. A 35-year-old woman was treated for smoke inhalation.
Last week, a Carlton apartment building was evacuated when a mobile phone power bank exploded and set fire to a bed on which two students were sleeping. The apartment was gutted and the pair were treated for smoke inhalation.
Last month, a Narre Warren home was left with a $100,000 fire damage bill when a battery from a rechargeable drill – which was not charging at the time – spontaneously combusted.
In March, two people died in a townhouse fire in Port Macquarie linked to a lithium-ion battery.
The ferocious blaze at Jim and Maria’s home started when a 20-centimetre lithium-ion battery spontaneously combusted mid-morning in early March.
“They do not have to be on charge ... to explode. These are things that are in your home and they are a ticking time bomb.”
Maria Johnstone, Sunbury resident
The battery was sitting on an outdoor dining table, waiting for a new motor to arrive for the pool cleaner. Jim says the battery was not damaged and was only 18 months old.
On the day of the fire, Jim was in Gippsland for work and Maria out on errands. By midday, they received a call the house was all but gone.
One dog, Milly, was rescued by a passing tradie who threw a brick through a second-storey window allowing the dog to jump out. But their spoodle dog, Lucy, and cat Daisy were trapped upstairs and died.
Lithium-ion batteries can break down in what’s called a “thermal runaway” where meltdown occurs cell by cell. Telling initial signs are heat, swelling, and crackling or popping sounds in the battery shell.
Eventually, the batteries can catch fire or explode, sending out jet-like flames as each cell explodes. These fires are particularly ferocious and difficult to extinguish.
The devastated Sunbury couple say that when they rebuild their home, they will install a fireproof cabinet to charge and store all their home devices.
“It’s seriously scary because there’s so many of them around and they’re everywhere,” says Jim.
Maria says she wants to see tighter regulations on the standard of products entering Australia for sale – echoing calls from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – and a step-up in warning labels about correct use and storage.
“The message I want to get across is that they do not have to be on charge for these things to explode,” Maria says.
“These are things that are in your home and they are a ticking time bomb.
“I don’t want anyone to go through this. Anyone. We lost our pets and it’s devastating because they’re our babies … and [next time there is a fire], it could be someone’s kids.”
Fire Rescue Victoria Deputy Commissioner Josh Fisher says there have been no fatalities linked to battery fires in Victoria, but they are a quickly growing risk worldwide, and public education is crucial.
Authorities say the No.1 rule is to avoid buying a device with a rechargeable battery unless it comes from a reputable brand and seller.
The ACCC estimates that by 2026, the average household will have 33 devices powered by lithium-ion batteries.
The consumer regulator was alarmed last year that a national voluntary survey of more than 4000 Australians found 54 per cent of respondents used aftermarket chargers, 39 per cent did not know how to correctly dispose of lithium-ion batteries, and many respondents said they would leave devices unattended while charging.
Fischer says Fire Rescue Victoria is particularly concerned about the growing risks for people living in apartments where dwellings typically have one entrance and are more likely to have people storing e-bikes and scooters in smaller spaces.
Top tips from fire agencies
- Buy devices with batteries only from reputable sellers and suppliers
- Only use chargers and cables that come with the device
- Don’t leave devices charging overnight
- Don’t charge near doorways, where a fire would block your exit
- Charge only on hard, non-combustible surfaces
- Charge large battery devices in the shed or garage, not living areas
- Don’t tamper with battery-powered devices
- Don’t leave devices in the sun
- Never use a device if the battery is swelling, bulging, leaking, damaged or overheating
- Have smoke alarms in the room where devices charge
- Never put batteries in the rubbish
“That’s a real concern for us because … you may not get past that if it’s in your escape path and you may be trapped,” says Fisher.
Fire Rescue Victoria’s official advice is that people store and charge e-bikes and e-scooters “in underground basements or outside if possible”, and if they must be charged and kept inside, not to leave them in front of escape routes.
Fisher says batteries on chargers can catch fire if they are overcharged or with the use of different chargers or cables than those they came with, but as in the case of Jim and Maria, non-charging batteries are also a risk.
“Particularly if the device has been damaged. So whether it’s been hit, struck or dropped, that could cause the [non-charging] battery to go into that thermal runaway event and to cause a fire to occur,” he says.
Fire Rescue Victoria recommends a smoke alarm in every bedroom, and if possible, interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home. It advises devices should be charged only while you’re awake or at home.
The risk of fire continues after a device is disposed of, with major waste company Cleanaway now experiencing one fire a week in its trucks or facilities linked to batteries.
“We need the ongoing support of the community to ensure we can continue to provide a safe waste-management service and keep our people and the communities in which we operate safe,” says Matt Goodman, Cleanaway’s head of health, safety and regulatory compliance.
Batteries of any kind should never be put in waste bins. Instead, they should be taken to drop-off bins at retailers such as Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and Bunnings or council-run drop-off facilities.
“These exist there in our community now. For most people, they’re never going to experience an issue with a lithium-ion device,” says Fischer. “What we want is for people to be safe and be aware of the basics.”
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