St. Marys Fire Department highlighting dangers of lithium-ion batteries during Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week runs from Oct. 5-11

Members of the St. Marys Fire Department are warning of the dangers associated with improper use, storage and disposal of lithium-ion batteries and devices.

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

From cellphones to power tools, lithium-ion batteries power so many of the devices we use daily.

The theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, which is Oct. 5-11, is “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home,” giving Fire departments across North America, including the St. Marys department, a chance to spread awareness of the dangers around improper use, storage and disposal of lithium-ion batteries.

“Lithium-ion batteries are basically running 90 per cent of our devices or more,” said St. Marys fire prevention officer Chris St. Clair. “We all have our phones, our watches, our computers – multiple things at home – and we really want to boost the importance of properly charging and really just the procedures around having lithium-ion batteries in the home.”

More and more, fire departments around the world are responding to fires resulting from damaged or improperly handled lithium-ion batteries, which have the potential to overheat, cause a fire, or even explode.

According to press reports, fire departments in Ontario are responding to more fires caused by lithium-ion batteries than in previous years.

The Toronto Fire Service, for example, responded to 76 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in 2024 — a 38 per-cent increase from 2023 (55 fires) and 162 per-cent increase compared to the incidents reported in 2022 (29 fires), according to a July 2025 report.

In 2023, the Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service urged the public to take extra caution when charging lithium-ion batteries in the wake of a house fire near Omemee. That fire, which resulted in more than $800,000 in damages, was caused by a charging e-bike battery that exploded.

And in August, Health Canada issued a recall for thousands of wireless power banks sold online via amazon.ca and homedepot.com, warning the lithium-ion battery used in the devices could overheat during use, posing a fire risk.

As the number of related fires continues to increase, the St. Marys Fire Department is hoping to share best practices for safe storage, use and disposal of lithium-ion-battery powered devices and chargers during Fire Prevention Week.

“There’s a lot of cases where someone used an after-market battery in a device, or an after-market charger for their device, and they’ll overheat and catch fire,” said St. Mary Fire Chief Phil West.

“Any sort of online platform where you’re buying devices and charger cables from; if they’re not Underwriter Laboratories (of Canada) or (Canadian Standards Association) listed devices, they could be dangerous,” St. Clair added. “You can find a lot of that information online; whether it’s a registered or certified device. Those are the things you want to look for when you’re buying your cables, power bars and batteries. Same goes for smoke alarms. I’ve seen a lot of smoke alarms that are purchased online through these companies, and they are not certified or listed to be used in Canada.”

When in doubt, St. Clair and West suggest using the cables that come with a product to charge it, or purchase replacements directly from the product manufacturer.

As for charging lithium-ion-battery devices, the prevailing wisdom is to charge them on a hard, flat surface in a dry, cool space. St. Clair and West are warning residents against charging phones and other devices under pillows, on beds or couches, inside cabinets or bedside tables, in direct sunlight, or near sources of heat to prevent them from overheating and starting a fire.

They’re also warning against overcharging a device; once it’s fully charged, unplug it or remove the battery.

Finally, St. Clair and West say improper disposal of lithium-ion batteries or devices that contain those batteries can lead to disastrous consequences.

“Basically, the garbage truck can catch fire or the landfill can catch fire,” St. Clair said. “I saw a recent post, it wasn’t too far from here, that the firefighters were at the landfill because someone disposed of their batteries that weren’t dissipated, so they caused a fire at the landfill.”

Instead, he suggested safely recycling lithium-ion batteries at designated recycling drop-off points, which include Home Hardware and Canadian Tire in St. Marys. For more information on how and where to recycle lithium-ion batteries, visit www.call2recycle.org.

St. Clair, West and the rest of the St. Marys Fire Department will be working to spread the messaging around safe use, storage and disposal of lithium-ion batteries during two Fire Prevention Week events.

On Oct. 9, the fire department will be at Your Independent Grocer with a food truck and swag-bag booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Oct. 11, the department will host an open house at the St. Marys fire station, also from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The open house will feature station tours, fire-truck and equipment demonstrations including a vehicle extrication demonstration at 11 a.m., an inflatable fire-safety house, a fire-prevention display, visits by the Stratford police and Perth County paramedics, three food vendors (Ken’s French Fries, The Grill Cheezery and Brannigans Fish & Chips), and a chance to meet local firefighters and Sparky.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home,” visit fpw.org.