According to experts, as long as batteries are stored at proper temperatures and they are not tampered with, they are perfectly safe. However, as more devices start to use batteries, and larger vehicles and machines switch to electric motors instead of combustion engines, the number of batteries produced will continue to increase, leading to higher numbers of faulty batteries, manufacturing defaults, companies dodging regulations, and more issues that will result in more batteries exploding, catching fire, and hurting people.

But which devices are more prone to exploding than others?

Background on Battery Fires

Most of the batteries in your everyday devices like toys, phones, cameras, scooters, and more are lithium-ion batteries. As those batteries age and more low-quality batteries make it into our products, the more common battery explosions become.

Battery fires can occur when the battery is faulty due to manufacturing defects or age, when it gets too hot, when the device is punctured or damaged for some reason, too much power being fed into the battery, and even for unknown reasons.

These fires can be small (but still damaging) or the result of large explosions.

Why Are Battery Fires Dangerous?

Even though there are more fires caused by combustion engines in cars and other gas-powered devices (like generators), battery fires present a unique and deadly hazard.

First, battery fires are electrical, so pouring water on them can make them worse in some cases.

Second, fires caused by lithium-ion batteries release a cocktail of deadly chemicals and fumes that can poison people nearby and prevent emergency responders from combating the fire.

Third, battery fires are often unpredictable and unexpected (remember the exploding Galaxy Note 7 batteries a few years ago?). Meaning that people are often less prepared to respond to a battery explosion when it occurs.

Fourth, devices with batteries are kept in places that are more prone to fires. Toys are kept in childrens’ bedrooms, laptops are kept in offices, phones are kept next to beds. These are not usually places we expect a fire or explosion to happen.

Battery fires will quickly become more common as more devices incorporate lithium-ion batteries.

A good rule of thumb to stay safe: the more likely a battery is to be exposed to high temperatures, damage, or the older it gets, the more likely it is to explode.

#1 Electric Scooters

The batteries in electric scooters are around 50 times bigger than the ones in your smartphone.

In March 2023, a seven-alarm fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery in an electric scooter that was left outside on the roof of an apartment building. Seven people were injured in the fire and 200 firefighters responded to the emergency. That same week, a house in California caught on fire after another electric scooter exploded.

Video from Canada showed a room on fire after an electric scooter exploded, and a home in Massachusetts also caught fire after an electric scooter exploded there.

That’s all in just one week.

In 2022 alone, New York firefighters had to respond to more than 200 fires caused by the batteries in electric scooters exploding. The piling of electric scooters on our already-crowded sidewalks was bad enough without the risk of them exploding in the hot sun, but do these companies care (or did they even plan for this issue)? Obviously not.

#2 Phones

It took several weeks and multiple reports of phones exploding before Samsung finally decided to recall the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016 after phones began catching fire and exploding in people’s pockets, most notably while on airplanes.

The FAA now banned uninstalled lithium-ion batteries from being carried onto airplanes, and they must be put in checked luggage.

Because of their heavy use, the tendency to be dropped and damaged, misuse, and wide adoption, it is likely that fires caused by smartphone batteries will continue.

#3 Electric Cars

Cars get in accidents, are left in the hot sun, and are prone to damage and corrosion. The more significant the accident and the corrosion, the more likely a batter in an electric car is to explode.

When an electric car explodes, it can take much longer for responders to put the fire out or even approach the vehicle to rescue the people inside.

#4 Electric Buses

In 2022, an electric bus in Connecticut exploded while it was parked at a bus depot, injuring three people. Responders were unable to put the fire out and had to let it burn the entire bus before it was extinguished.

#5 Electric Bicycles

In 2023, three fires were started when the batteries in electric bikes exploded in New York City. Over 20 children were injured in one such fire at a daycare in Queens, and three people were sent to the hospital after a fire in Inwood.

#6 Unattended Electronics

Accidents happen. Pets can chew on electric chords. Power surges and lightning strikes can overload batteries. Video doorbells exposed to the hot sun can overheat. Robot vacuum cleaners can fall down the stairs or break. The list is nearly endless.

You should take care to check your electronic devices if you let them operate while you are away. This is especially true if you bought your device from a less-than-trustworthy source.

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