Lithium-ion battery power bank sparks devastating Stittsville house fire

An Ottawa family says they’re lucky to be alive after a blaze was started by a lithium-ion battery inside a phone charger. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

Gabby Hammond’s bedroom is unrecognizable after a fire tore through the second floor of her family’s Stittsville home in March.

“I was sleeping, and then I heard a pop sound,” Gabby said. “I kind of sprung up out of my bed, and then I felt my arm kind of burning so I looked to my side and I saw that my portable charger had caught on fire.”

Fire investigators confirmed the cause of the blaze was a lithium-ion battery in a power bank Gabby uses to charge her phone that was in her bed.

“I then jumped out of my bed and then I tried to put the fire out with my pillow and then I kind of threw the charger… but my mattress had already caught fire, so it just kept going and getting bigger, no matter how much I was like putting it out,” Gabby said.

Firefighters arrived three minutes after getting multiple 911 calls but the fire spread so fast that flames were already through the roof.

It’s the ninth fire caused by lithium-ion batteries in Ottawa so far this year, compared to 26 in all of last year.

“Once they start catching they spread fast and they burn hot,” said Nick DeFazio, Ottawa Fire Services public information officer. “In this case, it’s a newer-build home and they burn very fast. So, we saw that the fire was right through the roof upon arrival and that’s because of how fast homes burn now, only giving people, on average, three minutes to get out of the home.”

In December, more than 200,000 units of the INIU BI-B41 power banks sold on Amazon were recalled in the United States because of 15 reports of the devices overheating, including 11 reports of fires that resulted in three minor burn injuries and property damage.

There isn’t a recall in Canada, but Health Canada says its Consumer Product Safety Program is “regularly reviewing recalls posted in other jurisdictions (including the US Consumer Product Safety Commission).”

CTV News reached out to the company multiple times but did not hear back.

INIU’s website states the recall was due to “a potential issue with specific battery cells used in limited batches” that were sold in the U.S.

Hammond purchased her power bank from Amazon Canada.

“Items such as those referred to here are currently legal under applicable laws and as such are available in our store,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “Amazon will continue to monitor the situation and adapt to any developments on regulation and compliance of these items.”

If customers have concerns, Amazon says they can contact its customer service.

Ottawa Fire Services says people shouldn’t panic if they have the popular power banks but they should ensure they’re using them properly.

“We’re seeing more lithium-ion battery fires due to misuse of them, not following manufacturer’s instructions and just the simple act of dropping a lithium-ion battery on a hard surface may damage the battery and it should be replaced,” said assistant division chief Jimmy D. Fata. “They’re great batteries to have. As you can see, we use them on a daily basis, but you just you just have to respect the battery and understand it’s a lot of energy in a small little device.”

The fire caused an estimated $750,000 in damage. Because of the extensive fire, smoke and water damage, the Hammonds believe their home will have to be entirely rebuilt.

“You don’t think that one day you’re going to get up and all of a sudden there’s a fire in your home and all of a sudden you realize that ‘oh, my gosh, everything is gone,’” said Hammond’s mom Dionne.

Dionne said the outpouring of support from their neighbours has been overwhelming.

“We’re grateful to be alive, we’re grateful that we have a community that’s here for us and we’re thankful.”

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