Fire Safety and Hazard Avoidance at Home: Essential Guide

Preventing Lithium-Ion Battery Fires at Home: A Guide for Residents in Victoria, Australia

Lithium-ion battery fires pose a significant risk in homes across Victoria, causing almost one fire every day. To enhance safety, it's crucial to adhere to certain guidelines when charging devices at home. Here are some key measures to follow:

Safety Measures

Use Original Chargers: Always use the charger supplied with your device to avoid using incorrect voltages that can lead to overheating and potential fires.
Avoid Charging on Soft Surfaces: Refrain from charging devices on soft surfaces such as beds, couches, or carpets, as these can catch fire if a battery malfunctions.
Monitor While Charging: Keep an eye on the device while it's charging, especially if it's a new battery or a device that's been unused for a while.
Regular Inspection: Regularly inspect your batteries for signs of damage, such as swelling, warping, or leakage. Replace any damaged batteries promptly.
Store Properly: Store batteries in a cool, dry place away from flammable materials. Avoid storing them in enclosed spaces like drawers or attics.

Precautions for General Safety

Keep Away from Flammable Materials: Ensure that devices and batteries are kept away from items that can easily catch fire, such as curtains, paper, or fabric.
Use Fire Safety Equipment: Have a fire extinguisher rated for electrical or Class C fires nearby, or consider using specialized fire suppression solutions like FCL-X for lithium-ion fires.
Dispose of Batteries Properly: Dispose of old batteries responsibly by recycling them if possible, to prevent accidental fires in trash or recycling facilities.

Compliance with Local Regulations

In Victoria, Australia, and more broadly in Australia and New Zealand, there are specific guidelines for lithium battery installations, particularly in RVs and vehicles. These guidelines include keeping batteries at least 300mm away from fuel lines and protecting against overloads and short circuits. While these guidelines are more relevant to mobile installations, the principles of safety and protection apply across all uses of lithium-ion batteries.

Additional Tips

Educate the Family: Ensure all family members understand the risks and safety tips for lithium-ion batteries.
Regularly Check Devices: Check devices and chargers regularly for wear and tear, replacing them if necessary.
Stay Informed: Stay updated with the latest safety guidelines and recalls related to lithium-ion batteries.

By following these measures and staying informed, you can significantly reduce the risk of lithium-ion battery fires in your home.

Kitchen Safety

The CFA recommends keeping a fire blanket and extinguisher in every kitchen, but only use them if you feel confident in doing so. Kitchens are one of the most common locations for fires to start in the home. To ensure safety, keep candles away from children, pets, drafts, and flammable materials, use only on sturdy, non-combustible surfaces with purpose-designed candle holders or burners, and don't leave them unattended and extinguish before leaving the house or going to sleep.

Fire Safety for Renters

Renters must not interfere with carbon monoxide alarms or fire safety or fighting equipment unless reasonable to do so. A non-working fire alarm is classed as an urgent repair in rental properties, and the rental provider must arrange for its repair or replacement when notified by the renter. In rental properties, rental providers are responsible for the installation, testing, and maintenance of smoke alarms, as well as providing renters with information on how to test and maintain the alarms.

Bushfire Safety

Many suburbs near large bushland parks in Victoria are at risk of bushfires, such as areas near the Yarra. Maintaining vegetation, cleaning gutters, sealing gaps in windows and doors, and removing flammable items from the vicinity of your home can help protect it from bushfires. It's important to understand the current bushfire danger ratings if you're planning to travel during fire season. A bushfire plan should be in place that states when you'll leave, where you'll go, and how you'll get there should a fire ignite. If you can't escape, get as far away from the smoke and fire as possible, call 000, ask for fire and say you need help escaping, stay on the line with the operator, and do not hang up.

Apartment Fire Safety

In apartments, residents should be familiar with the fire escape plan for their building, know the location of the fire exits, fire stairs, and fire fighting equipment, and create an escape plan for their household. Using emergency exits or fire stairs to evacuate, not using lifts unless they are specifically labelled for evacuation, and not storing items where they could obstruct your exits or block access to fire fighting equipment are important safety measures in apartments.

Electric Blanket Safety

It's recommended that you only turn on your electric blanket 30 minutes before bedtime, turn the blanket off before you get into bed, store the blanket rolled up (not folded) and not under any heavy objects, and inspect it for damage after taking it out of storage.

Barbecue Safety

Barbecuing outside should follow many of the same safety rules as cooking in the kitchen, such as keeping flammable materials away and never leaving the barbecue unattended. Barbecues that use solid fuel such as wood and heat beads are banned on total fire ban days.

In the event of a fire at home, the safest option is to get out, stay out, and call 000. All new homes, as well as those undergoing significant renovation after 1 May 2014, must use interconnected smoke alarms if there is a need for multiple smoke alarms. Close doors while exiting if safe to do so, get down low and crawl if there's smoke, keep the key in any deadlocks to allow a quick exit, and if you can't escape, close the door to the room where there's fire if safe to do so. Create a fire escape plan that lists at least two escape routes from every room, make sure everyone in your household is familiar with the plan, and have a designated safe meeting spot outside.

Maintaining a safe lifestyle at home includes being mindful of home-and-garden practices, such as keeping batteries and devices away from flammable materials, and using fire safety equipment like fire extinguishers. Regularly inspecting batteries and disposing of old ones responsibly can also help prevent lithium-ion battery fires in your home.