Lithium Battery Explosion At Local Business

A lithium battery is the culprit behind an apparent small explosion reported at Grant County Medical Equipment March 11.

Grant County Fire Chief John Crosby received a call Saturday morning from business owner and Grant County Commissioner John Martin.

"(Martin) called me in the afternoon - I think around 4 o'clock," Crosby said. "When he got there (Grant County Medical Equipment) it (the debris from the battery) was cold. It (the fire) had gone out by itself. There was some soot and everything. There were pieces of that battery all over the place."

Crosby said when Martin got in to the middle part of the store he went back in to a small room and realized something had happened.

"He saw all the debris and what was left of his vacuum cleaner," Crosby said. "It was one of those battery powered Dyson vacuum cleaners. We think it may have happened either Friday night or Saturday morning."

Martin said he discovered what had happened about noon Saturday.

"You could smell something," Martin said, "and after I got sat down at my desk - I thought it smelled like something electrical so I got to looking around and found it. You could see the soot on everything."

Problems with lithium batteries have become more common involving those that have been left plugged in and unattended.

"They've been having problems all across the country with runaway batteries - basically that are being left on chargers," said Crosby. "Some of them are failing and when they do they create fires. His (Martin's battery) happened to burn and blow up. He was just lucky he didn't have a fire."

Martin said the battery which exploded at Grant County Medical was not plugged in. Having one explode that is not plugged in has happened, but not as often as those left charging.

"(Experts) are recommending that anybody with rechargeable batteries and stuff - if the building is unattended - unplug them and not let them sit there and charge while no one is in the building," Crosby stressed, adding that what transpired here could have been much worse.

"It could have been real bad," he said. "We could have had a major fire there on Main Street. It just so happened the vacuum head was sitting on a metal file cabinet and there was nothing to burn around it. If he had something that was flamable around it, it would have continued to burn and we would have had a big fire."

There was nothing left of the Dyson vacuum, according to Crosby.

"It was just a blob of plastic," he said. "You could see where the flame and soot had gone up the wall toward the ceiling, but then it ran out of fuel and just died. They were lucky. If it hadn't died the building would have burned up."

Lithium battery problems are becoming more frequent most likely because of the increase in use.

"They use them on everything now," Crosby said. "We even have them here at the fire department on our air packs. They are becoming extremely common, but they are having problems. We are starting to see that all over the country and we've had a couple of fires here that were caused by battery chargers. They will suddenly just fail. They will cook and then start burning."

Lithium batteries are used for power tools, cell phones - "just about everything", according to Crosby.

"Cellphones are spontaneously combusting - they use a battery," Crosby said. "Everything is going to batteries. If you have anything that uses a rechargeable battery, do not leave it unattended and plugged in. If you are home, that's fine. But, if you are going to be gone it is recommended that you unplug the chargers so it lessens the chance of something happening."

Martin will have to have a special crew come in to handle the cleanup.

"It's a plastic fire," Martin said. "It gives off an oily residue and makes it very difficult to clean. When you have something like this happen, you have to hire a company like Service Master. They will come in and use a vaccuum, dry wipe everything and then wet wipe everything."

Martin is not sure how much the damages will be until adjustors come in.

"I believe the walls will need to be repainted and the flooring may need to be replaced," he said. "They will have to put ozone machines in here. They will have to clean up in the rafters. It will be a three to four month project. The store front here will be shut down for at least four months."

Crosby said the cleanup alone of the incident would most likley be expensive.

"I would estimate around $15,000-$20,000 just for the cleanup," Crosby said. "The ozone cleaners will need to be there to get rid of the smell. It is a very pungent smell."

There is no danger to the community at this point from what happened, according to Crosby, who noted that you wouldn't want to breathe in the fumes from the incident.

Crosby added "there was nothing Martin could have done to prevent" what happened.

Customers of Grant County Medical will still receive the care they need, according to Martin. 

"We've got our phones forwarded," Martin said. "However, due to smoke damage we are unable to have the store open. We can still take care of our customers though. The  two girls who work here will go to Garden City every day. They will leave early and bring stuff back depending on what people's needs are.We can still take care of everybody."