Electric wheelchair goes up in flames after lithium battery explodes
By Steven Yablonski
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HOLLYWOOD, Florida (WFOR) — Fire officials in Hollywood are praising the quick thinking of a resident who likely saved her home after an electric wheelchair she purchased went up in flames.
According to a Facebook post from Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety, a woman said she started to hear a strange clicking sound coming from the battery pack of the used electric wheelchair, which she had bought from a thrift store.
Fire officials said that instead of ignoring the sound, she immediately moved the electric wheelchair outdoors where it exploded.
That move, officials said, likely saved her family and home from catastrophe. She then called for help, “and that decision prevented a dangerous lithium battery fire.”
According to Hollywood fire officials, the woman had been charging the chair with a non-manufacturer charger, which can overload or overheat a battery.
“It’s a reminder that when it comes to lithium batteries, small warning signs matter,” Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety said in the Facebook post.
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