An early-morning battery teardown in Westlake turned into the kind of DIY project the Los Angeles Fire Department dreads, when a person taking apart lithium-ion batteries sparked a fire inside a third-floor apartment on Thursday.
The blaze, which broke out in a unit at 252 S. Rampart Blvd., prompted a HazMat response and a sizable fire department rollout after a building "water flow" alarm sounded at 6:09 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke pushing from the apartment and knocked the fire down in about 30 minutes. No injuries were reported.
As reported by MyNewsLA, 45 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. LAFD spokeswoman Jennifer Middleton told the outlet that "HazMat units are on scene mitigating any further issues with the smoldering batteries, as well as monitoring air quality for the residents' ongoing safety." Authorities have not released any information about possible charges or the identity of the person involved.
How Crews Worked The Battery Fire
Fire companies concentrated on putting out the unit fire and isolating any remaining hot battery cells, while HazMat personnel handled the more specialized work. Teams ran air quality checks inside the building and cooled smoldering batteries to keep them from reigniting.
Battery-related calls like this are becoming increasingly familiar to LAFD. In a December report on a separate Westlake blaze, the department described another apartment fire where a lithium-ion battery was suspected and HazMat monitors were used to safeguard residents. That kind of repeat scenario is a big reason first responders now routinely roll in with specialized tools and mitigation plans when batteries are involved.
Why Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Go From Handy To Hazard
Lithium-ion cells can fail in a rapid, self-heating chain reaction known as thermal runaway when they are damaged, punctured or tampered with. Once that starts, they can generate intense heat and thick, toxic smoke that is tricky to control inside a confined space like an apartment.
Underwriters Laboratories has documented rising numbers of these battery thermal events and recommends that responders use dedicated cooling techniques and continuous monitoring when dealing with them. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has likewise warned consumers not to tamper with batteries and has issued guidance on properly disposing of defective chargers and power banks.
What Nearby Residents Are Urged To Do
People who live in or near the building are being asked to follow directions from emergency personnel and to stay out of affected areas until officials give an all clear on the air quality. Officials are also reminding residents not to try their own version of battery surgery at home.
Used or damaged rechargeable batteries should not be taken apart, thrown in regular trash or stashed in a drawer. Instead, they should go to an authorized household hazardous-waste drop-off site. Los Angeles County lists S.A.F.E. centers and collection events that accept rechargeable batteries. If you notice a swollen, smoking or unusually hot battery in your home, the advice is straightforward: get people to safety and call 911 immediately.
Authorities stayed at the Westlake building into the morning to finish cooling any remaining hot spots and to continue air monitoring, MyNewsLA reported. The fire department has not yet released details on damage estimates or potential follow-up actions and says it will provide updates when more information is available.
