Contra Costa Fire officials warn of lithium ion battery dangers after series of related fires

WALNUT CREEK -- Contra Costa Fire investigators are blaming several recent incidents they believe were caused by lithium ion batteries, including a fire that destroyed the garage of a home in Walnut Creek.

The fire was first reported on the 1900 block of Amersbury Court at around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday night, Contra Costa Fire Protection District officials said. Firefighters arriving at the scene within minutes found heavy smoke coming from the fully involved garage. 

Officials said the fire was out by 9:34 p.m., but at that point the garage roof was compromised, creating an issue for firefighter safety. Investigators determined the fire was likely caused by lithium ion batteries. At 6:07 a.m. Wednesday morning, the fire rekindled in the wall and returning firefighters were forced to removed the roof for safety. Two adults were displaced by the fire. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians in Walnut Creek fire.

Contra Costa Fire investigators believe this was the third fire caused by lithium ion batteries in the past week. In addition to the garage fire, there was a second lithium fire covered by Con Fire in the past two days as well as an incident on June 5th in Antioch that involved an e-bike being charged.   

The recent fires led CoCo Fire to tweet out information regarding lithium ion battery safety.

In:
• Contra Costa County
• Fire
• Walnut Creek
• House Fire