The streets of Seattle have become home to hundreds of e-bikes and scooters in recent years, with a growing number of commuters and hobbyists relying on them to get around. As the use of these devices powered by lithium-ion batteries increases, so does the number of fires in connection with them. This prompted the Seattle Fire Department to urgently bail when using and storing the devices.
Last year, Seattle Fire saw 22 of those fires, with nearly half in apartments and houses. The department has responded to six so far this year.
Extinguishing these fires presents unique challenges, adding to the concerns of officials.
“Putting water on this type of fire is not normally enough to extinguish it completely because the compromise [battery] the cells can reignite moments later,” Seattle Fire Department Police Officer David Cuerpo said in an email.
Also at play is that e-bikes and e-scooters often run on low-quality batteries, according to University of Washington chemical engineering professor Daniel Schwartz.
RELATED: : Seattle: Scooters are dangerous. Tacoma: Wheeeee!
“They still bring a good amount of energy,” he said. “But they tend to be lower-cost, mass-produced battery products — less engineering, less safety standards.”
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission on Monday issued a notice about Unit Pack Power (UPP) batteries, an aftermarket brand of lithium-ion batteries often used to power e-bikes. The warning follows several reports of fires and serious property damage caused by the batteries, which are manufactured in China and “have not been certified by an applicable accredited laboratory.” [Underwriters Laboratories] safety standards to ensure protection.” Underwriters Laboratories is widely considered the global authority on the safety of electronic products.
Schwartz compared lithium-ion batteries, in general, to unopened soda bottles: the more they’re knocked around and mishandled, the more likely something will go wrong.
“The basic idea of a battery is that within a hair’s breadth of each other, you have this strong oxidizer and a fuel that — if they touch — they burn,” Schwartz said.
RELATED: : Try all 5 shared e-scooters in Seattle, plus a unicycle
Those temperatures can be quite high, according to Seattle Fire.
“It can quickly burn over 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, emit toxic gases, and overheat adjacent cells … causing a chain reaction known as thermal runaway where compromised overheated cells catch fire or explode,” Cuerpo said, emphasizing the need to treat these batteries. with care
Earlier this year, the city of Seattle announced a ban on throwing lithium-ion batteries in the trash, forcing them instead to be disposed of through a special recycling program. Other cities such as New York and San Francisco have enacted similar laws because of the batteries’ potential for fires.
RELATED: Rolling to Washington state: support for e-bikes
Seattleites took about 4.9 million rides on city-sponsored e-bikes and e-scooters last year, a 32% increase in use by 2022, according to Department of Transportation data. Ridership is on track to surpass that number in 2024 if a trend towards increasing monthly use is maintained.
When it comes to the private use of e-bikes and e-scooters, lawmakers have passed a state-funded rebate on the devices to help reduce emissions. The rebate could hit $300 to $1,200 from a purchase, depending on the income level.
For its part, Seattle Fire says there are obvious signs of lithium-ion battery problems, such as smoke or swelling. But the department also warned users to be aware of strange smells coming from e-bikes and e-scooters, or batteries that are not charging. Those scenarios signal that it’s time to safely dispose of the batteries.
Seattle Fire offers the following tips for using lithium-ion batteries safely:
- Keep your electric bikes, e-scooters and batteries away from exit doors and anything hot or flammable.
- Only purchase and use devices, batteries and charging equipment that are listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory and labeled accordingly.
- Always follow the instructions from the manufacturer.
- Only use the battery and charger that came with your device.
- Charge your device when it is fully charged.
- Only charge one battery at a time to prevent overloading the circuit.
- Keep batteries at room temperature. Do not charge if it is too cold (below 32°F or 0°C) or too hot (above 105°F or 40°C).
- Do not leave batteries in the sun or in hot cars. Keep away from children and liquids.
- Get a professional to fix your device if it’s broken. Do not handle the battery yourself.
- Never throw lithium-ion batteries in the trash. Better to recycle. Take batteries to a battery recycling facility or contact your local waste department for disposal instructions.
