Lincoln Fire and Rescue officials are sounding the alarm about the dangers of lithium batteries after responding to a fire Monday afternoon in a residential area north of Pine Lake Road near 95th Street.
Public Information Officer MJ Lierman says the fire started in the bed of a pickup truck where a bag of golf clubs had been stored. The bag and equipment were destroyed and the truck heavily damaged. While sifting through the debris, Lierman says an investigator found a small item.
“The owner thought for a a minute and said, ‘oh I bet that’s the rangefinder’,” Lierman says. The rangefinder runs on lithium batteries and was kept in the side of the golf bag that had been in the back of the metal pickup in the direct sunlight all afternoon with no way for the heat to escape.
The heat continued to build up in that compartment and eventually started the golf bag on fire. “Another thing to consider is if the batteries get damaged while putting the golf clubs in the back of the pick up or while riding down the road this will accelerate the thermal runaway process that would happen in these lithium batteries.”
LFR investigators say unlike a cell phone that will shut off when it gets overheated, the rangefinder will not shut off and keeps absorbing heat until the fire starts.