Damage from battery fire (Image Credit: Kamloops Fire Rescue)

By Michael Reeve

BATTERY SAFETY

Kamloops man credits proper safety protocols for saving his house after lithium battery explosion

Mar 25, 2026 | 4:36 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) is reporting an increase in fires related caused by lithium batteries, highlighting the importance of proper use.

It’s an issue that is well-known to Kamloops’ Roly Worsfold, who credited safety precautions for saving his house after his RC plane battery exploded last Friday.

“You want to make sure when you are charging those lithium batteries that you have them on a non-flammable surface, like a piece of drywall is best or metal, something that is not going to burn,” said Worsfold. 

Charging the battery on a metal countertop and away from flammable materials is likely the only reason Worsfold’s house is still standing. KFR also notes fire departments are still learning how best to fight battery fires once they enter ‘thermal runaway.’

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“Really in the grand scheme of things as a fire department and in North America, we don’t really know how to put these things out,” said KFR’s Josh Cowen. “They are saying just put a whole bunch of water on it, but if there is no exposures around the best thing to do is just let them burn.”

Lithium batteries are now everywhere in life, from RC planes to e-bikes and scooters and also in laptops and cellphones. Most of the time, these batteries are completely safe, but KFR cautioned about using the wrong charger for the device.

“Those smart batteries do have that ability to stop the charging but if it has the wrong charger it can over-charge and then that is where we are getting into issues,” added Cowen. “There is really no precursor to this. It’s basically, your battery just gets hot, there will be maybe be a puff of smoke and then boom there is a very volatile explosion, and the bigger the battery the bigger the explosion.”

The message from KFR and Worsfold is a simple one – don’t stop enjoying your battery-powered toys but ensure safety remains a priority.

“Make sure that you follow the charging requirements and not set the charger higher than the number of cells they are rated for,” added Worsfold.