Image Credit: Kamloops Fire Rescue

By Curtis Goodrum

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

Kamloops Fire Rescue warns of dangers posed by lithium batteries

Oct 7, 2025 | 4:22 PM

KAMLOOPS – It’s Fire Prevention Week and this year, Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) is focusing on lithium batteries.

They can be found everywhere in daily life, including in phones, e-bikes, electric vehicles and e-cigarettes.

“You want to buy the right listed products with a UL, ETL or CSA stamp,” noted KFR Life Safety Educator Josh Cowen. “You want to charge your devices correctly. That means using the right charging cords. Charging your devices on a flat surface and then recycling your lithium batteries in an appropriate facility. There are different locations within the city of Kamloops where you can recycle your lithium batteries. The goal is just to get people not to throw them in the trash.”

Across Kamloops, 15 locations will take lithium batteries and dispose of them safely.

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“When they overheat, they can go into what’s called a thermal runaway, which is essentially them exploding. There’s a bunch of little cores within the lithium battery and once one of those cores overheats, it can cause an explosion. That explosion is very, very difficult to put out for us in the fire department world. We’re having a very difficult time putting these batteries out,” said Cowen

For more information on how to safely dispose of lithium batteries, is on the recycle your batteries website.