Established in 1922 by the National Fire Protection Association to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, October is recognized as National Fire Prevention Month. Monmouth Fire Assistant Chief Pat Spears states this year’s theme focuses on reducing lithium-ion battery fires:
“The goal this year is to make people aware of battery charging. The lithium-ion batteries, those can be very dangerous if they get overheated. If you have those plugged in, make sure they are on a hard surface. Do not have them tucked under a pillow or blanket or something, that can heat up so hot that it can eventually start a fire. Be aware of where you have your batteries and phones and everything plugged in at. They are in your cellphones, basically everything now has a lithium-ion battery in it,” informs Assistant Chief Spears.
“Electric vehicles can be very time consuming and very hard to put out. Once those batteries go into what they call ‘thermal runaway,’ you can’t put them out. You have to submerse them in water,” Assistant Chief Spears adds.
Assistant Chief Spears also reminds farmers to carry fire extinguishers and keep cigarettes out of the fields this harvest season.
