Dustin Harpe built his family’s imagination location successful Kenosha County, Wisconsin: a abstraction wherever his kids could turn up and wherever helium could thrive arsenic a begetter with quadraplegia.
But that imagination turned to catastrophe this period erstwhile a occurrence sparked by a lithium-ion drone artillery ripped done the house, leveling it successful little than an hour.
"I didn't deliberation a artillery that size would instrumentality my location down successful 45 minutes," Harpe told section presumption TMJ4.
Now Harpe is sharing his communicative with a plea: “Take precautions to support your family.”
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Why lithium-ion batteries tin beryllium dangerous
Lithium-ion batteries — recovered successful drones, smartphones, e-bikes, and powerfulness tools — are lightweight, rechargeable, and powerfulness overmuch of our modern life. But erstwhile damaged, overheated oregon poorly manufactured, they tin go ticking clip bombs.
Fire officials and user information advocates agree. Richard Trumka, a commissioner with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), precocious released a statement informing of the escalating risk:
"People successful flat buildings are disquieted that their neighbor’s e-bike could pain down the full building. And that’s not a hypothetical concern…it’s happening. A occurrence broke retired connected the 20th level of a 37-story New York flat building. It wounded 43 people, and for those surviving successful floors supra the fire, firefighters had to repel down from the extortion to prevention them done their windows."
The CPSC has logged 227 fire-related incidents linked to lithium batteries successful micromobility products unsocial — starring to 39 deaths and 181 injuries. But projected information regulations to code the contented are presently stalled, aft the agency's Democrat bulk was ousted successful May 2025 and remaining Republican commissioners voted to withdraw the regularisation successful its existent form.
Experts pass that the biggest risks of occurrence oregon detonation travel from:
Overcharging oregon unattended charging
Low-quality oregon uncertified batteries
Improper retention successful blistery garages oregon adjacent flammable items
Damaged, swollen oregon counterfeit artillery cells
CPSC officials impulse consumers to usage lone batteries and chargers certified by labs specified arsenic UL oregon ETL, travel shaper guidelines for retention and charging carefully, and debar inexpensive aftermarket substitutes.
Read more: Americans are ‘revenge saving’ to past — but millions lone get a measly 1% connected their savings. Here’s however to rapidly gain 280% much connected your cash
No clip to react
After an mishap 9 years agone near him with quadriplegia, Harper was precise fortunate that helium decided to permission the location that day.
"I was truly adjacent to conscionable getting backmost successful furniture due to the fact that I wasn't feeling precise good. I don't cognize what made maine alteration my mind," Harpe said. "If I'm stuck successful furniture by myself I'm similar a turtle connected my back, you know, I can't get up oregon get out."
His woman and their 4 children were not location erstwhile the occurrence broke out, but the location — designed to beryllium afloat accessible for Harpe’s wheelchair — was wholly destroyed. Their 3 pets did not past the flames.
How to support yourself from lithium artillery fires
Harpe says helium ne'er thought a drone artillery could bash this benignant of damage.
"It's not thing that I deliberation astir radical deliberation about, that thing that tiny tin origin a occupation that big," Harpe said. And he's right, astir consumers don’t recognize however unsafe lithium batteries tin beryllium if not handled with care.
Here’s however to trim the hazard successful your ain home:
Never complaint lithium batteries unattended, particularly portion sleeping oregon distant from home.
Avoid utmost temperatures. Don't permission batteries successful blistery garages oregon cars.
Use fireproof retention oregon charging bags for drones, e-bikes, oregon instrumentality batteries.
Look for damage. If a artillery is swollen, hot, oregon smells odd, halt utilizing it immediately.
Charge successful a harmless area. Keep batteries distant from flammable items, wood, paper, oregon gasoline.
Keep a occurrence extinguisher adjacent — particularly successful garages oregon location workshops.
Experts typically besides urge charging batteries similar these extracurricular if possible, successful shaded areas similar a shed successful the backyard. It's besides a large thought to complaint them wrong of fireproof bags oregon successful non-flammable spaces.
As for Harpe, helium plans to rebuild a caller location erstwhile the debris of his aged 1 is cleared — focusing connected occurrence extortion measures.
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This nonfiction provides accusation lone and should not beryllium construed arsenic advice. It is provided without warranty of immoderate kind.
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