When people picture a lithium-ion fire, they picture an electric car. But in a hospital or aged care facility, the batteries that matter most are smaller, closer to residents, and often charging right beside a bed: mobility scooters, electric wheelchairs, adjustable beds, and portable medical devices.

That combination — high-energy batteries charging near people who may not be able to evacuate quickly — makes lithium-ion fire safety a genuine duty-of-care issue for facility managers.

Why aged care is higher-stakes

A lithium-ion fire can ignite with little warning, spread fast, and fill a room with dense toxic smoke within minutes. In a residential aged care or hospital ward that's especially dangerous because:

• Residents often can't self-evacuate and rely entirely on staff.
• Mobility scooters and wheelchairs frequently charge overnight, unattended, near where residents sleep.
• Oxygen and other medical equipment nearby can worsen an incident.
• Staff-to-resident ratios are lowest overnight — exactly when charging risk is highest.

The devices to keep an eye on

1. Mobility scooters & electric wheelchairs — the largest batteries in the building outside the car park, usually charged in resident rooms or corridors.
2. Adjustable and electric beds — battery backups and control units that stay powered around the clock.
3. Portable medical devices — infusion pumps, monitors and other rechargeable equipment.
4. Staff and visitor e-bikes and e-scooters — increasingly charged on site.

Building safety into the facility

The goal is a rapid, appropriate response at the point of risk — not a single extinguisher at the nurses' station.

• Designate charging areas where practical — ventilated, away from exits and bedheads.
• Place the right equipment on the floor — lithium-ion-rated extinguishers and containment blankets near mobility-device charging points and store rooms.
• Train staff that a lithium-ion fire behaves differently and can reignite, so containment matters as much as suppression.
• Include batteries in fire drills and equipment checks, not just alarms and exits.