Purse fire shows danger of lithium batteries
<span>A Memorial Hospital employee received an important lesson about the dangers of lithium batteries on Tuesday.</span>
<span>That night, Chester firefighters responded to the report of a smoke detector sounding at a nurse's station inside the facility. Upon arrival, they discovered a purse had caught fire and singed the hair of the victim.</span>
<span>"She had a lithium battery in her purse that got mixed with some coins, shorted out the battery and the purse ignited," said Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert, who added the fire had already been extinguished upon firefighters' arrival. "Since I've been on with the department, this is the second or third one I've seen."</span>
<span>Although rare, the horror stories are out there. E-cigarettes exploding in people's' pants, cell phone batteries melting and now, purses catching fire.</span>
<span>According to Live Science, lithium-ion batteries have circuitry inside them to prevent overcharging or short circuits.</span>
<span>But if that circuitry becomes damaged, or if the batteries are installed incorrectly, they can overheat and set off a chemical reaction referred to as "thermal runaway."</span>
<span>During thermal runaway, the individual battery modules can melt, giving off heat. Overheated modules then create a domino effect until the battery explodes.</span>
<span>"Batteries should be kept in their own case," Bert said, adding that even something as simple as a ziplock bag would be effective. "When you take a 9-volt battery and throw it in a trash can - if you don't tape up the connections and it comes into contact with anything metal in the trash can - it can do the same thing."</span>
<span>Bert also recommends proper battery disposal at a recycling center.</span>
<span>According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been more than 40 recalls for defective lithium-ion batteries since 2002.</span>
<span>To help avoid issues with batteries, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends the following:</span>
<span>*Only purchase batteries and chargers directly from the manufacturer or from a manufacturer-recommended source.</span>
<span>Buying counterfeit or poorly-manufactured batteries increases the chance of having an issue.</span>
<span>*Do not let a loose battery come in contact with metal objects, such as coins, keys, or jewelry. Metal objects can cross the electrical connections and cause an incident if the internal protection circuitry isn't functioning correctly.</span>
<span>*Do not crush, puncture or put a high degree of pressure on the battery, as this can cause an internal short-circuit, resulting in overheating.</span>
<span>*Do not place the phone or batteries in areas that may get very hot, such as on or near a cooking surface, cooking appliance, iron, radiator or the dashboard of your car in the summer.</span>
<span>*If you drop your phone or laptop on a hard surface, it can potentially cause damage the battery.</span>
<span>*If you suspect damage to the battery, take it to a service center for inspection.</span>
<span>*If your phone gets wet, even if the device dries and operates normally, the battery contacts or circuitry could slowly corrode and pose a safety hazard.</span>
<span>*And if you see any bulging, leakage or other abnormality from your battery, stop using it immediately.</span>