Likely cause of Franklin house fire raises safety concerns surrounding lithium-ion batteries

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WSMV) - Williamson County Fire and Rescue crews were called to a house fire in Franklin just after 8 p.m. Thursday.

Authorities say the cause of the fire is likely from lithium-ion batteries they found inside the home.

[PREVIOUS: Williamson County house fire likely started by lithium battery]

“I looked out and I saw just this whole street covered in ambulances, fire engines, cop cars,” Donne Petruska recalled. “All the neighbors were out.”

Petruska, who lives just down the street in the Abington Ridge subdivision, says everyone was working their way to the source of the commotion to find out what was wrong.

“When I walked up the street to the house, the flames were going above the tree line,” Petruska said. “It was a huge fire.”

Authorities say no one was hurt, neighbors said the owners were not home when the fire started. But two dogs were unfortunately inside, and died as a result.

When day broke on Friday, many came to the shell of a home to see how bad the damage was.

“It’s different when you see it in-person,” Petruska said. “It definitely is intimidating. It was shocking to see the aftermath, to see it gutted this way.”

Authorities say early signs lead to lithium-ion batteries as the cause. According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission, there were at least 25,000 incidents of fires or overheating in a recent five-year period with these battery types.

“The first thing all of us are thinking is: we have lithium-ion batteries and things and what made it explode? What made it malfunction? So, we’re wanting to find out what actually caused it because everybody, you know you see something like this, and you’re like, ‘I don’t want that top happen to me,’” Petruska said. “I’ve certainly never seen anything like this before.”

The battery types are common in any household. You can find them in most laptops, phones, tablets, power tools, etc.

How can you hopefully prevent a fire from starting from your batteries?

Here’s a couple things to look out for if you own these battery types:

• If you notice a color or shape change with the battery, stop using it.
• If it overheats, the battery leaks, or makes strange noises, don’t use it.
• If safe to do so, move it away from anything that can catch fire.
• If all else fails, call 911.

“I’m scared. I want to go there [her home] and find where are the batteries, what is a lithium-ion battery, and get it out of my house,” Petruska said. “Because that was not a small fire, that was huge.”

Fire officials say although the cause is likely determined, the incident remains under investigation.

Copyright 2024 WSMV. All rights reserved.