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A dog in Tulsa, Oklahoma is giving the good boys and girls a bad name after chewing on a lithium-ion battery and accidentally starting a house fire.
On July 31, the Tulsa Fire Department released a video of the house fire that happened back in May, showing two dogs and a cat hanging out in the living room.
One dog can be seen bringing a lithium-ion battery pack with a cable attached to it on a dog bed and then proceeding to chew on it.
After a few moments of chewing, the dog gets startled when the battery started sparkling and then exploding in flames on the dog bed.
The dogs and the cat were startled and started panicking after the explosion. The two dogs can then be seen staring at the dog bed up in flames, before proceeding to bark at it.
The fire started to spread to the couch and the Fire Department revealed that the home was significantly damaged during the accident.
“Fortunately, the pets involved were able to escape unharmed through a dog door,” Tulsa Fire Department’s Public Information Officer, Andy Little, said.
He adds, “However, the outcome could’ve been much worse if there have been no means of escape or if the family was asleep at the time.”
The Tulsa Fire Department also used this opportunity to raise awareness on the dangers of lithium-ion batteries.
On the video uploaded by the Tulsa Fire Department, Little talks about the fires started by lithium-ion batteries and how they are “a critical issue that has been affecting fire departments across the United States”.
He proceeds to explain, “Lithium-ion batteries are known for storing a significant amount of energy in a compact space. However, when this energy is released uncontrollably, it can generate heat, produce flammable and toxic gasses and even lead to explosions.”
Little added that fires started by lithium-ion batteries can happen due to various reasons, including: exposure to extreme heat, physical damage to the battery, overcharging, and using incompatible charging equipment.
The Fire Department also wrote, “fire departments all over the country are seeing fires related to these batteries and we want the public to learn about usage, safe storage and proper disposal of these potentially dangerous batteries.”
