The fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are intense, toxic and according to Toronto’s fire chief, pose the greatest public fire safety risk in Canada’s largest city. “Since 2022…the city of Toronto has seen well north of a 200 per cent increase in the number of fires involving lithium-ion batteries,” said fire chief Jim Jessop. Lithium-ion batteries are found in a host of products, but Jessop says it’s e-bikes and e-scooters that are catching fire at an alarming rate. The chief says that’s, in part, because those batteries are not regulated the same way cell phone, computer or electric vehicle batteries are. “The data we’ve gotten out of our investigations is it’s predominantly the batteries that are not regulated, do not meet a standard, that anybody can go on any internet site to bring into this country and use, quite often for purposes or with devices for which they were not originally designed,” Jessop said. He said the fires caused by these batteries are unpredictable and challenging to put out. “We have had fires, for example, where we’ve put out lithium-ion batteries and they’ve restarted literally 24, 36 hours after we thought the fire was out,” Jessop said. Jessop adds the fires are so toxic, Toronto Fire Services have had to develop an entirely new approach to fighting these blazes. “Hazardous materials teams and our hazmat technicians respond now to every single lithium-ion battery incident,” he says. “They’re so unstable once they go into thermal runaway, for example, we can’t bring them out down a stairwell.” He also says fire gear exposed to smoke from a lithium-ion battery fire has to be specially cleaned. “The first-in crews that are exposed to this toxic smoke have to now send our gear out to get even deeper cleaned,” he said. “That is unheard of. We have never had to do that before with a typical room and contents fire.” While a lack of regulation is one issue, experts say lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters are also more susceptible to damage, which can make the batteries unstable and more likely to catch fire. “A swelling battery, just even a slightly bit swollen, is no good,” says Randy Narine, president of Clean Core Research, which conducts large-scale destruction research. He says people continue to use damaged batteries because they work, but they are at greater risk of catching fire. “A damaged battery…has an even higher risk of going into thermal runaway, of catching fire, because now you’re using something that’s damaged,” said Narine. “How long will it perform like that is the question. And nobody really has a surefire answer to that.” Cities across North America are grappling with a sharp increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, with many calling on provinces and the federal government to enact changes in how these batteries are regulated. “We’ve asked the federal government to look at exploring regulatory changes in terms of demanding some type of standard…for these batteries coming in,” said Jessop. “We have also asked the provincial government to look at potential amendments to the Ontario Fire Code. For example, should there be a limit on the number of micromobility devices or e-bikes that are in a single apartment?” Health Canada says it is looking into possible regulations while the Ontario Fire Marshal is also exploring changes. “Potential amendments to the Ontario Fire Code are being explored as an initial phase of broader efforts to enhance fire safety across the province,” said Jim Demetriou, a spokesman with the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal. Jessop is hoping changes are made quickly, noting the dangers these batteries can cause to communities and fire crews. “Our firefighters are going into buildings that are more unpredictable, that are more dangerous, and that the fires are a lot more intense and toxic than they ever were,” he said. Jessop says 50 years ago it would take 20 to 25 minutes for a room to be engulfed in flames; with modern furniture, that time is now down to five minutes. Add in a lithium-ion battery, and people have about 90 seconds to get to safety. “It’s shooting out a jet of flame that’s literally a 500 degree blowtorch,” said Narine. “What that means is it’ll light anything else up around it. And because a lot of the furniture these days is made out of all these polyurethane products, they’re very easy to light on fire,” Narine said.
