Palm Beach County Fire Rescue sounds the alarm on lithium-ion batteries

NON-EMERGENCY LINE. WELL, TODAY, PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE IS REMINDING PEOPLE OF THE DANGERS OF LITHIUM BATTERIES. THEY HELD A LIVE BURN DEMONSTRATION TO SHOW HOW THEY CATCH FIRE, AND WHY THEY CAN BE HARD TO PUT OUT. OUR JOELY RODRIGUEZ WAS THERE. WHEN YOU THINK OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, YOU PROBABLY THINK OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES OR EVEN YOUR E-BIKES. BUT A LOT OF EVERYDAY ITEMS HAVE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES. EVEN THINGS LIKE THIS SMARTPHONE. PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT IS SOUNDING THE ALARM ON AN INCREASING REALITY. THESE BATTERIES, WHEN THEY MALFUNCTION, THEY’RE GOING TO HEAT UP TO ABOUT 800 DEGREES. THAT’S WHEN THE BATTERIES START TO EXPLODE. AND ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS THEY EXPLODE SO VIOLENTLY. EACH ONE OF THESE BATTERIES IS LIKE A LITTLE MISSILE. LITHIUM ION BATTERIES HAVE SURPASSED ALTERNATIVES OVER THE LAST DECADE, ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY AND MCKINSEY AND COMPANY ANALYSTS ANTICIPATE 30%…

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