An early-morning blaze that gutted an apartment in Toronto's St. Jamestown neighbourhood was accelerated by lithium-ion batteries in the unit where it started, according to CBC News. The broadcaster reported that the fire tore through a unit in a building on Ontario Street, and that while the cause was still under investigation, Toronto Fire had already determined the batteries played a major role in how the fire spread.
CBC reported that much of the damage was the result of lithium-ion batteries, both inside the apartment and out on the balcony. According to the broadcaster, fire officials said the intensity of the fire and the toxic smoke and gases it produced were far worse because of the micro-mobility devices in the unit, the kind of batteries commonly used to power e-bikes, e-scooters and power tools.
Toronto fire chief Jim Jessup told CBC the service has seen a steep rise in the number of fires involving these types of batteries in recent years. He said that in 2022, when the service began collecting data, there were 22 fires that were the result of lithium-ion batteries, a figure that later climbed to 71, with 51 already recorded so far this year even though the year was barely half over — what he described as well over a 200 per cent increase.
According to CBC, many of those cases have involved batteries on electric bikes bursting into flames. Jessup said that in almost every case, the batteries were either damaged or were aftermarket batteries being shipped in from other countries with no safety certification of any kind, leaving them prone to failing.
The chief said his number one recommendation to residents of the city was not to buy aftermarket batteries, not to tamper with the batteries, and not to try to get a longer charge out of them, CBC reported. The broadcaster said Jessup is also urging the federal government to regulate the sale of lithium-ion batteries so that unsafe products do not reach consumers in the first place.
In Toronto, CBC reported, some are calling for new bylaws to regulate the use of these batteries in condos and apartment buildings. One local representative said they had sent a notice to all of the condo and apartment managers in their ward warning that the batteries pose a really severe fire risk that building operators need to take seriously.
Officials are also pressing the provincial government to change the fire code so that it addresses the safe storage of lithium-ion batteries of all kinds, particularly the larger ones, according to CBC. The broadcaster noted that other big North American cities, including New York, have already adopted regulations governing the sale and use of lithium-ion batteries.