Fire Safety & Prevention

Every 10 years. Smoke alarms have a limited lifespan. The sensors degrade over time, and after 10 years the alarm may not detect smoke reliably, even if it still chirps when you press the test button.

How to check the age: Look on the back of the alarm for a manufacture date. If there's no date, or the alarm is older than 10 years, replace it now.

Battery maintenance:

• Alarms with replaceable batteries: Replace the batteries at least once a year. A good habit is to swap them when you change the clocks for daylight saving time.
• Sealed 10-year lithium battery alarms: These last the life of the alarm, no battery changes needed. When the battery dies, you replace the entire unit. These are a good option if you tend to forget battery changes.
• Hardwired alarms: These are wired into your home's electrical system and have a backup battery. Replace the backup battery annually and replace the entire unit every 10 years.

Test every alarm monthly by pressing the test button. If it doesn't sound, replace the battery. If it still doesn't sound, replace the alarm.

At minimum, you need a smoke alarm:

• Inside every bedroom
• Outside each sleeping area (in the hallway near bedrooms)
• On every level of the home, including the basement

For a typical two-story, three-bedroom home, that's at least 5 alarms: one in each bedroom (3), one in the upstairs hallway (1), and one on the main floor (1). Add one for the basement if you have one.

Placement tips:

• Mount on the ceiling or high on the wall, because smoke rises. Keep a ceiling alarm at least 4 inches out from the nearest wall, and if you are putting one on the wall instead, get the top of it within a foot of the ceiling.
• Don't put them right next to the kitchen or bathroom. Cooking smoke and shower steam cause false alarms. Ten feet from the stove is the distance to work to.
• If your home has a peaked or vaulted ceiling, mount the alarm within 3 feet of the peak but not at the very top (dead air space at the apex can delay detection).

Interconnected alarms are strongly recommended. When one goes off, they all go off. This means a fire in the basement will wake you up in your second-floor bedroom. You can get wireless interconnected alarms that don't require running wires between units.

They detect completely different hazards and you need both.

Smoke alarms detect the particles that burning puts into the air. They warn you about fires. There are two types:

• Ionization alarms. Respond faster to flaming fires (burning paper, grease fires). More prone to cooking false alarms.
• Photoelectric alarms. Respond faster to smoldering fires (overheated wiring, cigarettes on furniture). Fewer false alarms from cooking.
• Best practice: NFPA says to use combination alarms that carry both sensors, interconnected through the house so that when one sounds they all sound. Hardwired interconnection is an electrician job; battery alarms that link wirelessly are not.

Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors detect carbon monoxide, an invisible, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion. Sources include furnaces, water heaters, gas stoves, fireplaces, generators, and cars running in attached garages. Carbon monoxide poisoning unrelated to any fire kills hundreds of people a year in the United States, according to the CDC.

Where to put CO detectors:

• On every level of the home
• Near sleeping areas (so you hear the alarm at night)
• Near attached garages
• Near any fuel-burning appliance

You can buy combination smoke/CO alarms that detect both.

A single chirp every 30-60 seconds is different from a full alarm. Here's what it usually means:

• Low battery. The most common cause. Replace the battery and the chirping should stop. If you have a sealed 10-year battery alarm, the chirping means the entire unit needs to be replaced.
• End of life. Smoke alarms expire after 10 years. When they reach the end of their lifespan, they chirp to tell you. Check the manufacture date on the back. If it's over 10 years old, replace it.
• Dust or debris. Dust inside the sensing chamber can cause intermittent chirping. Gently vacuum the alarm or blow it out with compressed air.
• Temperature fluctuations. Alarms in unheated areas (attics, garages) may chirp in extreme cold. This isn't ideal. Move them to a conditioned space if possible.
• Hardwired alarm with backup battery issue. If your alarm is wired into the house electrical but has a dead or missing backup battery, it may chirp.

Do not remove the alarm or take out the battery to stop the chirping. Fix the problem: replace the battery, clean the alarm, or replace the unit. A missing or disabled alarm can't protect you.

If you've replaced the battery and it's still chirping, hold the test button for 15-20 seconds to reset it. If it continues, replace the alarm.

Get everyone out of the house immediately and call 911. Carbon monoxide is invisible and odorless. You can't detect it without an alarm, and it can kill within minutes at high concentrations.

1. Get everyone outside into fresh air. Account for all household members and pets.
2. Call 911. Tell them your CO alarm is sounding.
3. Do NOT go back inside to open windows, turn off appliances, or investigate. Let the fire department handle it. We carry CO meters that can identify the source and measure the concentration.
4. If anyone has symptoms, tell the 911 dispatcher. CO poisoning symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, and weakness. These can be mistaken for the flu. In severe cases: loss of consciousness, seizures, death.

Common CO sources in the home:

• Malfunctioning furnace or water heater
• Blocked chimney or flue
• Running a car in an attached garage
• Generator running too close to the house
• Gas stove or oven used for heating

Take every CO alarm seriously. Unlike smoke alarms, CO detectors rarely false-alarm. If it goes off, assume there's CO in your house until the fire department clears it.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is called the "silent killer" for a reason: it's colorless, odorless, and tasteless. You can't detect it without a CO detector. It kills, and it sends far more people to the emergency room than it kills.

Where CO comes from: Any device that burns fuel produces CO: furnaces, water heaters, gas stoves, fireplaces, wood stoves, generators, grills, and vehicles. Normally this CO is vented safely outside. Problems happen when venting is blocked, equipment malfunctions, or fuel-burning devices are used in enclosed spaces.

How to protect yourself:

• Install CO detectors on every level of your home and near sleeping areas.
• Have fuel-burning appliances inspected annually. Furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, and chimneys.
• Never run a generator indoors or in an attached garage. Place generators at least 20 feet from any window, door, or vent.
• Never use a gas oven, grill, or camp stove to heat your home.
• Never warm up a car in an attached garage, even with the garage door open.
• Make sure all vents and flues are clear, especially after a snowstorm, which can block exterior vents.

Symptoms of CO poisoning: Headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, confusion. At high levels: loss of consciousness and death. If multiple people in the house have flu-like symptoms at the same time (especially without fever), suspect CO poisoning. Get outside and call 911.

Cooking. Cooking causes about half of all home fires in the United States. The biggest single factor inside the kitchen is cooking left unattended: a quarter of the fires, and half of the deaths.

The pattern is almost always the same: someone puts something on the stove, leaves the room, and gets distracted. A pot boils over. Oil overheats. A towel sits too close to a burner. Minutes later, there's a kitchen fire.

How to prevent cooking fires:

• Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling, or broiling. If you must leave, even for a minute, turn off the burner.
• Keep the stovetop clear. Towels, paper, wooden utensils, pot holders, and food packaging shouldn't be anywhere near the burners.
• Don't cook if you're drowsy, medicated, or have been drinking. Impaired cooking is a significant fire risk.
• Heat oil slowly and watch it constantly. If you see wisps of smoke, the oil is too hot. Turn it down immediately.
• Keep a lid nearby whenever you're cooking with oil. If a grease fire starts, sliding a lid over the pan is the fastest, safest response.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in or near the kitchen, and know how to use it before you need it.

We cover this in detail in our Emergency section. The short version: never throw water on a grease fire, cover the pan with a metal lid, turn off the burner, and if the fire has spread beyond the pot, get out and call 911.

Most kitchen fires come down to a few common causes:

1. Unattended cooking. By far the leading cause. A pot boils over onto the burner, grease overheats, or food ignites while the cook is in another room. Fix: Stay in the kitchen whenever something is on the stove.

2. Grease and oil fires. Cooking oil has a flash point. Once it starts smoking, it's close to igniting. Deep frying is especially risky. Fix: Heat oil slowly, never fill a pot more than one-third with oil, and keep a lid handy.

3. Flammable items near the stove. Dish towels, paper towels, oven mitts, curtains, and food packaging left too close to a hot burner. Fix: Keep a 3-foot clear zone around the stovetop.

4. Oven fires. Built-up grease or food residue in the oven ignites during cooking. Fix: Clean your oven regularly. If a fire starts inside the oven, keep the door closed and turn off the heat. The fire will smother itself without oxygen.

5. Microwave fires. Usually caused by metal in the microwave, running it empty, or overheating food. Fix: Never put metal in the microwave. If something catches fire, keep the door closed, turn it off, and unplug it. The lack of oxygen will put it out.

6. Cooking while impaired. Alcohol, medications, and fatigue lead to poor decisions and slow reactions. Fix: If you're not alert, don't cook. Order food instead.

Space heaters can be used safely, but they account for a share of home heating fire deaths far out of proportion to the number of fires they start. The risk isn't the heater. It's how people use them.

Safe use rules:

• Keep 3 feet of clear space around the heater on all sides. Nothing combustible, no furniture, curtains, bedding, clothing, or paper.
• Plug directly into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord or power strip with a space heater. They draw too much current and can overheat the cord, causing a fire inside the wall or under a rug where you can't see it.
• Place on a hard, flat surface. Never on carpet, rugs, or furniture. Some heaters can ignite carpet fibers.
• Turn it off when you leave the room or go to sleep. A space heater left running unattended is a common way a house fire starts.
• Buy a heater with an auto-shutoff that triggers if it tips over or overheats.
• Never use a space heater to dry clothes or shoes.

If you're relying on space heaters as your primary heat source, that's a sign your heating system needs attention. Space heaters are meant to supplement central heat, not replace it. A malfunctioning furnace is cheaper to fix than a house fire.

Fireplaces and wood stoves are common in our area and can be used safely with proper maintenance and habits.

Annual maintenance (non-negotiable):

• Have your chimney inspected and cleaned every year before the heating season. Creosote, a tar-like byproduct of burning wood, builds up inside the chimney and is highly flammable. A chimney fire can spread into the structure around the flue.
• Check the damper, flue, and chimney cap. Make sure the damper opens and closes fully, the flue is clear of obstructions (birds' nests are common), and the cap is intact.

Safe burning practices:

• Burn only dry, seasoned hardwood. Green or wet wood produces more creosote. Never burn treated lumber, painted wood, cardboard, or trash. They produce toxic fumes and accelerate creosote buildup.
• Use a fireplace screen or keep the stove door closed. Popping embers can land on carpet or furniture and smolder for hours before igniting.
• Open the damper before lighting a fire and keep it open until the fire is completely out and the ashes are cool.
• Don't overload. Smaller, hotter fires are safer and produce less creosote than large, smoldering ones.
• Keep combustibles at least 3 feet from the fireplace or stove. Furniture, decorations, stockings, everything.

Improper ash disposal is a surprisingly common cause of house fires and porch fires. Ashes can retain enough heat to ignite combustible materials for days after the fire goes out.

The right way to dispose of ashes:

1. Wait at least 24 hours after the fire is completely out before removing ashes.
2. Shovel ashes into a metal container with a tight-fitting metal lid. Not a cardboard box. Not a paper bag. Not a plastic bucket. Metal only.
3. Place the metal container outside, on a non-combustible surface (concrete, dirt, gravel), not on a wood deck, not on the porch, not against the house or garage.
4. Keep it at least 10 feet from the house and anything flammable.
5. Wait several more days before final disposal. Wet the ashes down before putting them in the trash.

What NOT to do:

• Don't put ashes in a trash can (plastic melts, cardboard ignites)
• Don't dump ashes on a deck, porch, or near siding
• Don't vacuum ashes with a regular vacuum (hot embers + dust bag = fire)
• Don't assume ashes are "cold" because the fire was hours ago

No. Never use an oven, gas grill, charcoal grill, or camp stove to heat your home.

Gas ovens and stoves: Running a gas oven with the door open produces carbon monoxide in quantities that can reach lethal levels in a closed home. Gas stove burners produce CO too. These appliances are designed for cooking with ventilation, not for sustained space heating.

Charcoal and propane grills: These produce massive amounts of carbon monoxide and must never be used indoors or in a garage, not even with the garage door open. People die from this every year, usually during power outages in winter.

Camp stoves and portable heaters designed for outdoor use: Same rule. If it burns fuel and isn't specifically designed and rated for indoor use, it stays outside.

Electric ovens: No carbon monoxide, but they aren't built to run continuously either. They overheat, and anything sitting nearby, a dish towel, pot holders, paper, can catch fire.

If you've lost heat in winter:

• Use electric space heaters if you have power (following safe use guidelines)
• Use your fireplace or wood stove if you have one
• Layer clothing and blankets
• Close off unused rooms to conserve heat
• Go to a warming shelter or stay with someone who has heat
• Call 211 for local help

Losing heat is uncomfortable. Carbon monoxide poisoning is fatal. There's no comparison.

No. Extension cords are designed for temporary use. Using them as permanent wiring is a fire hazard and a code violation.

Why they're dangerous long-term:

• Extension cords generate heat under load. A cord running 24/7 to a space heater, refrigerator, or TV can overheat, especially if it's coiled up, run under a rug, or pinched behind furniture where heat can't dissipate.
• Cords degrade over time. Pets chew them, furniture crushes them, people trip on them. Damaged insulation can arc and start a fire inside a wall cavity or under carpet where you won't see it.
• Overloaded cords are a common cause of electrical fires. Most household extension cords are rated for less current than the wall outlet they're plugged into.

Safe practices:

• Use extension cords only temporarily, for a specific task, then unplug.
• Never run cords under rugs, carpets, or through doorways where they'll be pinched.
• Never daisy-chain extension cords or plug one into another.
• If you need more outlets, have an electrician install them. It's not expensive and it's far safer.
• Never use an extension cord with a space heater. Plug heaters directly into a wall outlet.

Electrical fires often smolder inside walls for hours or days before becoming visible. Catching the warning signs early can prevent a fire.

Call an electrician if you notice:

• Frequent tripped breakers or blown fuses. An occasional trip is normal. Frequent trips mean a circuit is overloaded or there's a wiring fault.
• Flickering or dimming lights. Especially if it happens when you turn on an appliance. This can indicate overloaded circuits or loose connections.
• Warm or discolored outlets or switch plates. An outlet that's warm to the touch or has scorch marks has a problem behind it. Stop using it immediately.
• A burning smell with no obvious source. Overheating wiring smells like burning plastic or rubber. If you smell this and can't find the source, it may be inside a wall. Kill the breaker for that area and call an electrician.
• Sparking outlets. A small spark when plugging something in can be normal (the prongs make contact). Repeated, visible sparking or sparks when nothing is being plugged in is a problem.
• Buzzing or crackling sounds from outlets or switches. This indicates arcing: electricity jumping across a gap in the wiring. It is a fire hazard.
• Outlets that don't hold plugs tightly. Loose connections generate heat.

If you smell burning and can't locate the source, or if you see sparking, treat it as an emergency. Kill the main breaker and call 911 if you're concerned. We'd rather check your wiring than fight a fire in your walls.

Clothes dryers start thousands of home fires a year. The U.S. Fire Administration found that failure to clean was the leading factor by a wide margin. The material that ignites first is most often dust, fiber or lint.

Lint is extremely flammable. It accumulates in the lint trap, the exhaust duct, and the dryer housing. When airflow is restricted by lint buildup, the dryer overheats and the lint ignites.

Prevention:

• Clean the lint trap before every load. This is the single most important thing you can do.
• Clean the exhaust duct at least once a year. Disconnect the duct from the back of the dryer and clean it out. You'll likely be surprised how much lint is in there. You can use a dryer vent cleaning brush (available at any hardware store).
• Check that the exterior vent flap opens when the dryer is running. If it doesn't, the duct is clogged.
• Use rigid or semi-rigid metal ductwork. Flexible plastic or foil ducts sag, trap lint, and can crush easily. Metal ducts are smoother inside, so lint passes through instead of accumulating.
• Don't overload the dryer. Overloading restricts airflow and makes the dryer work harder and hotter.
• Don't run the dryer when you leave the house or go to sleep.

Warning signs your dryer vent needs cleaning: Clothes take longer than one cycle to dry, the dryer is hot to the touch, the laundry room is humid or smells musty, or the exterior vent flap isn't opening.

A fire escape plan takes one conversation to make and can save your family's life. Do it tonight.

Step by step:

1. Draw a floor plan of your home showing every room, door, and window. It doesn't have to be pretty. A rough sketch works.
2. Mark two ways out of every room. The first is usually the door. The second is usually a window. If a bedroom window is too high to jump from, consider a fire escape ladder, sold at most hardware stores.
3. Pick a meeting place outside. Somewhere specific that everyone knows: the mailbox, a neighbor's driveway, a tree. This is where you go so you can count heads and know everyone got out.
4. Walk through the plan with your family. Everyone, including kids, should know the routes and the meeting place.
5. Practice at least twice a year. Practice at night, too. That's when most fatal fires happen and when disorientation is worst. Time yourselves. You should be out in under two minutes.

Important details people forget:

• Can everyone open every window on their escape route? Some windows are painted shut or have broken mechanisms. Check them now.
• Do children know how to unlock and open windows? Practice with them.
• If someone has mobility limitations, who helps them and by what route?
• Once you're out, stay out. Never go back inside for anything.

Get out. In almost every situation, the answer is get out.

The only time it's reasonable to attempt to fight a fire is if all of the following are true:

• 911 has already been called. By you or by someone else. Never fight a fire instead of calling 911.
• The fire is small, no bigger than a wastebasket
• The room is not filled with smoke
• You have a clear escape route behind you
• You have the right extinguisher and know how to use it
• Everyone else is already out of the house or getting out

If any one of those conditions isn't met, leave immediately.

Why people get hurt trying to fight fires:

• Fire can double in size in about a minute. What looks manageable now can be uncontrollable moments later.
• Smoke is the real killer. Two breaths of superheated smoke can incapacitate you. You won't be able to find the door.
• People underestimate how fast conditions change. The room goes from uncomfortable to unsurvivable in seconds.
• The extinguisher runs out. A home extinguisher empties in seconds, not minutes. If that doesn't put the fire out, you've used your only tool and now you need to escape through worse conditions.

Firefighters have breathing apparatus, thermal protection, and training for exactly this situation. Let us do our job. Your job is to get out alive.

Every home should have at least one fire extinguisher. The right type matters. Using the wrong extinguisher can make a fire worse.

Types of fire extinguishers:

• Class A. Ordinary combustibles (wood, paper, cloth, plastic)
• Class B. Flammable liquids (grease, gasoline, oil, paint)
• Class C. Electrical fires
• Class K. Kitchen cooking oils and fats (commercial kitchens)

For home use, get an ABC-rated extinguisher. These handle the most common household fire types. A 5-pound ABC extinguisher is a good all-purpose choice.

Where to keep them:

• Kitchen. Near an exit, not next to the stove (you don't want to reach over a fire to grab it). Mount it on the wall or keep it in a cabinet near the kitchen entrance.
• Garage/workshop. Near the exit door.
• Each floor of the home. If you can afford multiple extinguishers, one per floor is ideal.

How to use one (PASS):

1. Pull the pin
2. Aim at the base of the fire (not the flames)
3. Squeeze the handle
4. Sweep side to side at the base of the fire

Maintenance: Check the pressure gauge monthly (the needle should be in the green zone). What comes next depends on which kind you own. Disposable extinguishers, the common household type, with a plastic head and no service tag, can't be serviced or recharged at all; replace them at the manufacturer's expiry, generally around 10 to 12 years. Rechargeable extinguishers, with a metal head, get professional maintenance and can be recharged after any use, even a partial one. Either way, most people forget they own one until they need it.

Townhouses and row homes share walls, and often share roof structures or attic spaces with neighboring units. A fire in one unit can spread to every connected unit. This makes them fundamentally different from a standalone house.

Key things to know:

• Most townhouse rows have no central fire alarm. If your smoke alarm goes off, your neighbors have no idea. You need to alert them yourself, or a fire in their unit could reach yours before you know about it.
• Fire can travel through shared walls and common attic spaces. Even fire-rated walls can be breached. Older construction may have no fire separation between units at the roofline.
• Know your neighbors. Know how many people live in each connected unit. Are there children? Elderly residents? Anyone with mobility limitations? This is critical information for firefighters.
• When you call 911, tell the dispatcher it's a connected building. How many units are attached, and whether you know of any occupants who may need help evacuating, especially anyone with limited mobility. This changes how many resources are dispatched.

Every connected unit should have working smoke alarms on every level. If your building doesn't have interconnected alarms between units, the only alarm system your neighbors have is you banging on their door.

Yes, after you and your household are safely out. In a connected building (townhouse, row home, duplex), your neighbors' homes are directly at risk. If there's no central fire alarm, they may have no idea a fire is burning on the other side of their wall.

How to alert neighbors safely:

1. Get your household out first. Your family's safety comes first. Don't delay your own evacuation.
2. Call 911. While on the phone, tell the dispatcher it's a connected building and how many units are attached.
3. Bang on doors and yell "Fire!" on your way to your meeting point, but don't re-enter any building to alert someone. If a neighbor doesn't answer, tell the firefighters when they arrive.
4. Tell dispatchers and arriving firefighters about anyone with limited or restricted mobility. Elderly residents, wheelchair users, anyone who can't get down stairs quickly on their own. This information changes the rescue plan. A person in a wheelchair on the third floor requires a completely different response than an able-bodied person on the ground floor.

This applies to any connected building. Townhouses, row homes, duplexes, and multi-unit houses. If a wall connects you, fire connects you.

Apartment buildings have different fire risks than houses or townhouses. Here's what every apartment resident should know:

Know your building:

• Find both stairwells (if your building has two). Walk the routes so you can do it in the dark or in smoke. Count the doors between your apartment and the stairs.
• Know where the fire pull stations are on your floor. Pulling one activates the building-wide alarm and alerts the fire department.
• Know whether your building has sprinklers. If it does, they buy you significant time. If it doesn't, your response time matters even more.

If the alarm sounds or you discover fire:

• Feel your apartment door before opening it. Use the back of your hand. If it's hot, stay in your apartment. The hallway may be filled with deadly smoke.
• If you can leave safely, close your door behind you but don't lock it (firefighters need access), and take the stairs. Never use the elevator during a fire. Elevators can stop at the fire floor, fill with smoke, or lose power.
• If you can't leave, stay in your apartment with the door closed. Seal the gap under the door with wet towels. Call 911 and tell them your exact apartment number and floor. Go to a window so firefighters can see you.

Tell 911 about any residents with limited mobility on your floor. This is especially important in buildings without elevators, where a person who can't use stairs is effectively trapped above the ground floor during a fire.

Many older buildings, especially smaller apartment houses, duplexes, and townhouse rows, were built before modern fire codes required central alarm systems or sprinklers. That doesn't mean they're unsafe, but it means you need to take responsibility for your own fire detection.

What you should do:

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your unit. Inside bedrooms, outside sleeping areas, and on every floor including the basement.
• Install CO detectors on every level, especially if you have gas appliances or an attached garage anywhere in the building.
• Use interconnected alarms within your unit so when one goes off, they all go off. Wireless interconnected alarms are available and don't require running wires.
• Have a plan for alerting neighbors. Without a central alarm, a fire in one unit won't automatically warn the others. Talk to your neighbors about this. Know who lives where.
• Keep a clear path to your exits. No storage in hallways, stairwells, or in front of doors.

If you rent, testing your alarms monthly and replacing batteries is worth doing yourself rather than waiting. If an alarm is missing or broken, notify your landlord in writing, and follow up until it's fixed.

Understanding how fire travels through shared buildings can save your life and your neighbors' lives.

Common fire spread paths:

• Shared attic spaces. Many townhouse rows and older row homes have continuous attic space above all units with no fire wall between them. A fire that reaches the attic of one unit has a clear path to every unit in the row.
• Shared walls. Modern fire code requires fire-rated separations between units, but older buildings may have standard framing with no fire-stopping. Plumbing and electrical penetrations through shared walls create additional gaps where fire and smoke can pass through.
• Balloon framing. Some older buildings use balloon-frame construction, where wall cavities run uninterrupted from the basement to the attic. Fire can enter a wall cavity on the first floor and emerge in the attic without ever being visible.
• Shared utility chases. Plumbing stacks, electrical conduits, and HVAC ducts that pass between units create vertical and horizontal channels for fire and smoke.
• Exterior spread. Vinyl siding, close eave-to-eave gaps, and combustible decks or porches can carry fire along the outside of the building from unit to unit.

This is why we say "close the door." A closed interior door holds back fire and smoke, and keeps the air behind it survivable for far longer than an open room. A closed unit door in a shared building protects not just your room. It slows the fire's path to your neighbors. Every closed door buys time, and time saves lives.

Yes, and it's a growing one. Lithium-ion battery fires are one of the fastest-rising fire hazards in the country. Fire departments nationwide are seeing a significant increase in fires caused by these batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are in everything: phones, laptops, tablets, e-bikes, e-scooters, power tools, vapes, hoverboards, electric vehicles, and portable chargers. When they fail, they can enter what is called thermal runaway: a chain reaction where the battery overheats, vents toxic gases, and ignites. These fires burn extremely hot, are difficult to extinguish, and can reignite hours after being put out.

How to reduce the risk:

• Use the charger that came with the device. Third-party or knockoff chargers may not have proper voltage regulation and can overcharge the battery.
• Don't charge devices on beds, couches, or pillows. Soft surfaces trap heat. Charge on a hard, non-combustible surface.
• Don't leave devices charging overnight or unattended for long periods.
• Don't charge in escape paths. If an e-bike or scooter battery ignites while charging in a hallway or near a door, it can block your exit.
• Stop using a device if the battery is swollen, hot, smells odd, or has been damaged (dropped, punctured, gotten wet).
• Buy from reputable manufacturers. Cheap, unbranded batteries and devices are the most common cause of failures.

A swollen, overheating, or smoking lithium-ion battery is about to fail. Treat it as an emergency.

If the battery is smoking or hissing (thermal runaway is starting):

1. Do not touch it with bare hands.
2. Get everyone out of the room immediately. Thermal runaway produces toxic gases including hydrogen fluoride.
3. Close the door to the room to contain the fire and fumes.
4. Call 911.
5. Do not try to put it out with a standard extinguisher. Lithium battery fires can reignite repeatedly. Water in large quantities can help cool the cells, but the fire department has the right equipment to handle this.

If the battery is swollen or unusually hot but not smoking:

1. Stop using the device immediately. Unplug it if it's charging.
2. Do not puncture, crush, or try to "deflate" a swollen battery.
3. Move it to a non-combustible surface away from anything flammable. A concrete floor, a metal baking sheet, outside on pavement.
4. Do not put it in the trash. Take it to a battery recycling drop-off (many hardware stores and electronics retailers accept them).

A swollen battery is a damaged battery. It won't get better. It can only get worse.

Don't ignore it. An intermittent burning smell is one of the most common early warning signs of an electrical fire or overheating appliance, and people dismiss it far too often because they can't find an obvious source.

What to do:

1. Try to identify the source. Check all appliances, outlets, and switches. Feel for warm spots on walls and outlets. Check the dryer, furnace, and any motor-driven appliances.
2. If the smell is like burning plastic or rubber, it may be electrical. Check outlets and switch plates for discoloration or warmth. Check behind the dryer, refrigerator, and dishwasher.
3. If the smell is acrid or chemical, it could be an overheating motor (furnace blower, refrigerator compressor) or a wiring problem.
4. If you can't find the source, call for help. Fires can burn inside walls, in attic insulation, or in hidden spaces for hours before breaking through. The smell may come and go because air currents carry the smoke intermittently.

Do not assume it will go away on its own. If you smell burning and can't confidently identify a harmless source, call 911. We will come check it out. We have thermal imaging cameras that can see heat inside walls that you can't see or feel. This is exactly the kind of call we want to get, because catching it early can prevent a fire.