WE’LL TALK ABOUT WHAT MORE TO
EXPECT.
AMELIA JOINS US NEXT.
>>> THEY COME IN SIZES LARGE AND
SMALL AND ARE INCREDIBLY
POWERFUL AND FUEL MANY OF OUR A DIFFERENT PRODUCTS.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT LITHIUM-ION
BATTERIES WHICH HAVE EXPLODED IN
POPULARITY BUT HAVE BEEN BLAMED
FOR EXPLODING AND CAUSING DEADLY
HOUSE FIRES.
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
SUSAN HOGAN AND THE I-TEAM
WANTED TO KNOW HOW BIG A RISK
THESE BATTERIES ARE AND WHAT YOU
NEED TO KNOW TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY
SAFE IF YOU HAVE THEM.
>> Reporter: AWE CORDING TO ONE
INDUSTRY ANALYST, THERE ARE MORE
THAN 40,000 CONSUMER PRODUCTS
THAT CONTAIN THESE LITHIUM-ION
BATTERIES, BUT WE FOUND THE U.S. DOESN’T HAVE ANY FEDERAL
REGULATIONS GOVERNING THEIR
SAFETY, SOMETHING FIRE EXPERTS
CALLED FOR JUST THIS WEEK IN A
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING.
WHILE MOST OF THESE BATTERIES AREN’T LIKELY TO CAUSE PROBLEMS
IN YOUR HOME, NOW IT IS UP TO
YOU TO PREVENT THE RISK OF
TRAGEDY. OVER THE YEARS TOM KENNEDY AND
HIS FAMILY HAVE BUILT A LIFETIME
OF MEMORIES IN THEIR HOME.
>> WE HAVE THE BIG HOUSE, AND SO
WE WOULD HAVE ALL THE FAMILY
HERE TO DO CHRISTMAS.
>> Reporter: BUT WHAT HAPPENED
THIS PAST DECEMBER IS A MEMORY
HE WISH HAD NEVER HAPPENED.
>> MY SISTER CALLED ME AND SAID,
TOM, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE.
>> Reporter: FOUR DAYS BEFORE
CHRISTMAS A FIRE BROKE OUT IN
TOM’S GARAGE. >> HAD I GOTTEN HERE TEN MINUTES
LATER, THE WHOLE HOUSE WOULD BE
GONE.
>> Reporter: IT WASN’T LONG
AFTER THAT THE FIREFIGHTERS
FOUND THE CAUSE. ELECTRICITYLITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
YARD TOOLS.
HE KEPT THEM ON THEIR CHARGERS IN HIS GRACHLKT THEY SAT FOR
MONTHS UNTIL THEY EXPLODED.
>> DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS A THING
THEY WOULD CATCH FIRE?
>> NO.
I CAN GUARANTEE YOU NO ONE IN MY
NEIGHBORHOOD KNEW THAT.
THEY KNOW NOW.
>> IT’S BECOME MORE COMMON AS THE USE OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
HAS SOARED IN THE PAST 20 YEARS.
THOUGH NATIONAL DATA IS HARD TO
FIND.
CITIES LIKE NEW YORK FOUND MORE THAN 250 FIRES CAUSED BY
E-SCOOTER, E-BIKES, AND
HOVERBOARDS.
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY FIRE
DIDN’T SAW AT LEAST 24 MAJOR
FIRES INVOLVING THESE BATTERIES
LAST YEAR. FAIRFAX HAD 17 INCIDENTS AND
D.C. HAD EIGHT, ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
FIRE CHIEFS, AND AT LEAST 19
PEOPLE DIED ACROSS THE NATION
BECAUSE OF FIRES CAUSED BY
MOBILITY DEVICES POWERED BY
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FROM
JANUARY 2021 TO NOVEMBER OF
2022, ACCORDING TO THE U.S. PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION.
>> ANYTHING THAT USED TO HAVE A
POWER CORD AND HAS A BATTERY NOW
PROBABLY HAS A ELECTRICITYION
IION BATTERY. >> HE STUDIED THESE BATTERIES
FOR U.L.’s FIRE SAFETY INSTITUTE
AND SAID THEY’RE EVERYWHERE FOR
GOOD REASON.
>> THEY’RE SO GOOD AT WHAT THEY
DO.
THEY PROVIDE A LOT OF POWER.
>> Reporter: LIKE POWERING YOUR
CELLPHONES, TOOTHBRUSHES, HAND
VACUUMS, TOYS, EVEN YOUR WATER
FILTER.
MOST ARE NOT A CONCERN BUT SOME
CAN BE IF THE BATTERIES AREN’T SAFELY CHARGED AND STORED.
HIS TEAM HAS STUDY HOW QUICKLY
THINGS CAN GO WRONG WHEN
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES OVERHEAT
AND GO THROUGH THERMAL RUNAWAY.
WATCH HOW QUICKLY THIS E-SCOOTER
GOES FROM SMOKE TO FLAMES.
>> I THINK WE’RE ALL STILL
LEARNING ABOUT THE HAZARD OF
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES AND THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN
WITH UNREGULATED PRODUCTS. >> Reporter: THAT’S BECAUSE
THERE’S NO FEDERAL SAFETY ISSUE.
>> WHEN SOME BRAND-NEW PRODUCT
COMES OUT, YOU MAY NOT SEE A
SAFETY STANDARD UNTIL IT IS OR
IS NOT RECOGNIZED AS A HAZARD.
>> HIS ORGANIZATION HAS
DEVELOPED VOLUNTARY SAFETY
STANDARDS AFTER SINGAPORE
ADOPTED THEM. THE COUNTRY SAW A NUMBER OF
TRAGEDIES INVOLVING LITHIUM-ION
BATTERIES DROP.
>> WE WENT FROM 120 TO 10 IN 22.
>> Reporter: FEDERAL STANDARDS
COULD BE ON THE WAY.
THE HOUSE RECENTLY APPROVED
LEGISLATION THAT WOULD CREATE A
SAFETY STANDARD FOR LITHIUM-ION
BATTERIES LIKE E-BIKES.
UNTIL THEN, DEVELOPMENT OF
POTENTIAL MANDATORY SAFETY RULES
IS A TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS
UNDER EXISTING STATUTES AND ITS
FOCUS IS TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT
SAFETY INFORMATION AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO INDUSTRY AND
CONSUMERS.
>> THOSE BOXES SHOULD HAVE A BIG
BOLD PRESS ON THERE, DO NOT
LEAVE UNATTENDED IN THE CHARGER.
>> TOM JUST WISHES HE HAD MORE
OF A WARNING ON THE BATTERIES HE
BOUGHT.
HE WOULD HAVE KNOWN NOT TO KEEP
THEM ON THEIR CHARGER.
>> EVERYTHING WAS BURNED IN THE
MUDROOM.
>> Reporter: HE SAYS IT WILL TAKE WELL OVER A YEAR FOR HIM TO
MOVE BACK HOME, AND UNTIL THEN
HE’S SHARING HIS FAMILY’S
UNFORGETTABLE CHRISTMAS STORY
WITH ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN.
>> THAT MIGHT SAVE A LOT OF
PEOPLE’S PROPERTY, COULD SAVE
SOME LIVES.
>> Reporter: FIRE SAFETY EXPERTS
WARN FIRES THAT BEGIN WITH
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES ARE
INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL AND REQUIRE TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS
OF WATER JUST TO PUT OUT.
AND THEY SAID THE PROPOSED
LEGISLATION INVOLVING eBIKES
WOULD BE A CRITICAL FIRST STEP
IN REGULATING THE SAFETY OF
THESE DEVICES THAT REALLY ARE IN
OUR EVERYDAY PRODUCTS.
>> DID YOU SEE THAT SCOOTER GO
UP THROUGH FLAMES?
>> NO ONE CAN GET THROUGH THE
DAY WITHOUT USING ANY OF THESE.
WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE DO TO USE
THEM SAFELY?
>> GOOD QUESTION.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS.
THERE ARE TIPS I’LL TELL YOU ALL
ABOUT.
WHAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING
ABOUT THIS, I LEARNED MYSELF WHEN I WAS DOING THIS STORY.
FIRE SAFETY EXPERTS AND THE CTST
SHARED THESE TIPS.
DON’T LEAVE BATTERIES ON THE
CHARGER.
ONCE THEY’RE CHARGED, YOU WANT
TO UNPLUG THEM.
PLACE YOUR LARGER LITHIUM-ION
BATTERIES FOR POWER TOOLS ON
TIMERS SO THE CHARMER WILL
AUTOMATICALLY SHUT OFF, FOUR
HOURS EACH.
BEWARE OF AFTERMARKET BATTERIES
AND ONLY BUY THOSE MANUFACTURED
FOR YOUR PRODUCT AND FINALLY
NEVER THROW THE BATTERIES IN YOUR TRASH.
TAKE THEM TO A RECYCLING CENTER OR HARDZARDOUS WASTE SITE.
>> I LOVE A TIMER FOR THE