Aged care homes and hospitals have quietly become dense with lithium-ion batteries — mobility scooters and wheelchairs charging in rooms and corridors, plus the ordinary tide of phones, laptops and personal devices. The risk from any one battery is low. The concern is the setting: a fire that would be a manageable event in a private home is far more serious where residents can’t move quickly and evacuation is complex.

Why mobility devices sit at the top of the list

Mobility scooters carry some of the largest batteries in the building and are often charged where their user sleeps. The regulator’s guidance is that a lithium-ion battery which is damaged, or charged or handled incorrectly, can catch fire, vent toxic gas and prove difficult to extinguish (ACCC, n.d.) — and toxic smoke, not flame, is frequently the first threat to life. In the UK, fire services have repeatedly recorded these fires taking hold within minutes and starting on escape routes (LFB, 2023).

What a facility should have in place

• A device and charging register: know which residents have mobility scooters, where they charge, and on what circuits.
• Designated charging arrangements: where practical, charge larger devices in a monitored location away from bedrooms and clear of escape routes.
• Staff training on warning signs: swelling, heat, hissing or odd smells mean isolate the device and evacuate the area — not investigate.
• Containment and early-response equipment: an appropriately sized fire blanket to contain a burning scooter and protect the room, and a suitable extinguisher for staff-safe early intervention, positioned and signed so staff can find them under pressure.

The goal isn’t to ban the devices residents rely on for independence — it’s to charge them somewhere sensible and be ready if one fails. See our hospitals & aged care page, or the mobility scooter equipment range.