YFD warns community about Lithium-ion batteries
Madeline Murray
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – It’s Fire Prevention Week and the Yuma Fire Department (YFD) wants to warn the community about Lithium-ion batteries.
When these batteries go bad, they don’t cool down properly and become a fire hazard. These batteries can be found anywhere like phones, laptops, e-bikes, and power tools.
YFD wants to remind the community in order to prevent fires, they need to charge these batteries with the charger it came with, purchase only listed and tested devices, and recycle responsibly.
Francisco Leon, Public Information Officer for YFD, says, “You can look up videos on YouTube, these things go up in flames super quick, you’ve got probably 20 to 30 seconds to get out, and on top of the extreme heat that they put out they also put out really toxic fumes, so if the heat doesn’t get you or you don’t get burned the fumes may.”
You can properly recycle these batteries by going to www.call2recycle.org to find your nearest recycling center.