By the time the Ithaca Fire Department arrived at the scene of a reported “desk on fire” in Risley Hall on the Cornell University campus last weekend, an occupant had used a dry chemical fire extinguisher and the fire was no longer burning, according to IFD Assistant Chief Jim Wheal. He says “a small battery pack had ignited” on a student’s desk in a portable battery charger.
According to Cornell Environmental Health & Safety logs, the fire was reported at 3:26am on Saturday, September 7th, caused when a “Lithium ion battery caught fire while charging.” Even though the fire occurred in the middle of the night, residents quickly noticing, reporting, and extinguishing the fire prevented what could have been a much more serious incident.
Officials haven’t shared what kind of battery or device was being charged in this incident, but lithium-ion batteries are common in many categories of consumer devices, including…
