Lithium-ion fires escalate faster than most people expect. A cell in thermal runaway generates its own heat and oxygen and can go from a warning smell to open flame in moments, releasing toxic smoke as it does (NVESR, 2025). That speed is exactly why a rehearsed response beats improvisation. Here is the sequence worth knowing before you need it.

If you catch it early — the warning stage

Before open flame, a failing battery often warns you: swelling, hissing or popping, intense heat, or an acrid, sweet chemical smell. At this stage, if you can do so safely:

• Stop charging and, only if it’s safe to reach, isolate the device — unplug it or move it onto a non-combustible surface away from other combustibles and away from exits.
• Get others clear of the room and ventilate if you can do it without lingering in the smoke.
• If in any doubt, skip straight to the fire stage below. Don’t take risks to save a device.

If it’s alight — the fire stage

• Get everyone out. People first, every time. Close doors behind you to slow the spread.
• Call 000. Tell them it’s a lithium-ion battery or EV fire — that changes how crews respond.
• Only if it’s small and you have a clear escape, a lithium-ion-appropriate extinguisher can cool and knock down an early fire, and a fire blanket can contain a burning device or vehicle and stop it spreading while crews arrive.
• Never fight a developed EV or large-battery fire. Full extinguishment needs the volume of water only the fire service brings — on the order of thousands of litres for a car (ICCT, 2024).

Afterwards

Don’t re-enter until the fire service clears the space. Don’t bin a fire-damaged battery in household rubbish — it needs proper disposal. And review what happened: where the battery was charging, what it was, and what you’d change.

Write your plan down, brief the household or team, and store your equipment where the risk is. Browse safety kits, or talk to us about the right setup for your site.