An electric scooter’s battery sparked a fire in a Montgomery County, Maryland, home that injured one person, displaced three people and caused $150,000 in damage, fire officials say.
The lithium-ion battery overheated while charging in an apartment in the 5000 block of Bradley Boulevard in the Bethesda and Chevy Chase area, Montgomery County Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said early Tuesday.
About 45 firefighters rushed to the three-story apartment building overnight and found a blaze on the third floor, officials said.
One adult resident was taken to a hospital with minor burns, officials said.
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Residents, some wrapped in blankets, were seen standing outside the building as crews worked to ventilate smoke.
Firefighters have extinguished the blaze and left the scene.
Three people can’t return to their home, officials said.
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This isn’t the first fire in the D.C. area tied to a lithium-ion battery. A remote control car battery started a Loudoun County blaze that caused more than $900,000 in damage in August 2020, the Washington Post reported.
Lithium-ion batteries are used in numerous products from headphones to toys to electric vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says they’re generally safe, but could catch fire or explode if damaged or operated unsafely.
The University of Washington has tips on safely storing lithium-ion batteries, including advice to keep them away from flammable materials.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.
