Lithium Battery Fires Ignite Hazardous Challenges for Colorado Firefighters

Over the past week, Colorado's foothills have seen a concerning spike in lithium battery fires, posing new challenges for local firefighters. On Thursday, a townhome in Aurora suffered heavy damage from a fire involving batteries from model RC cars. This followed an incident just two days earlier in which South Metro Firefighters had to quickly remove and immerse an electric scooter in a mineral-glass mixture to extinguish the blaze.

The issue has become so prevalent that even a car fire at a charging station in Littleton last weekend required the evacuation of nearby residents due to the hazardous smoke. Firefighters have discovered that traditional methods like water are largely ineffective against these types of fires, and can even exacerbate the problem by creating toxic gases and hazardous runoff.

"Because of the way they're packaged in that battery, there's no way for that water to absorb into that flame and actually extinguish that fire," explained South Metro Fire Public Information Officer Matthew Assell. "The way that the fire burns and the heat and the temperature that they burn at make it where water doesn't work on these fires."

The root causes of these lithium battery blazes can be difficult to pinpoint, potentially stemming from issues like charging, overcharging, damaged batteries, or the use of incompatible equipment. Regardless, the situation has posed new risks for the firefighters themselves, who now have to take extra precautions when dealing with the smoke and residue.

"This is kind of a whole new animal. It's in a ballpark of its own with what it's causing. The issues it's causing, the possible cancers and things like that," said South Metro firefighter Joe Douglass.