The City of Montreal has seen a dramatic increase in the number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries over the past year. A phenomenon that could be attributed to the great popularity of electric bicycles and scooters, which are increasingly visible on the streets of the metropolis.
In his Activity report 2022, the Montreal Fire Department indicates that 24 fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries, without giving more details, however. The document nevertheless points out that, “misused, the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries increasingly present in cell phones, tablets, laptops, electric scooters, etc., can catch fire”.
This is a significant increase compared to 2021 when only 7 fires attributable to lithium-ion batteries were observed. Between 2018 and 2020, 17 such fires were recorded on the territory of the City of Montreal, an average of 5.6 per year.
A similar phenomenon is observed in several other large North American cities. Last March, the City of New York announced a plan to deal with a significant increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries used in “micromobility devices”. In 2020, New York authorities listed 44 such fires; there were 220 in 2022.
Between 2021 and 2022, the American metropolis also recorded 10 deaths and 226 injuries in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.
Explosion of a lithium-ion battery in New York
Les feux provoqués par des trottinettes ou des scooters électriques sont en effet spectaculaires et difficiles à combattre. « C’est un feu qui est très difficile à éteindre. Il faut une substance qui va refroidir la batterie, ça ne prend pas juste de l’eau », explique Jacques Bourdeau, ingénieur en sécurité, en entrevue avec La Presse.
Car malgré ses nombreux avantages, la batterie lithium-ion possède un inconvénient de taille : elle a tendance à chauffer, rappelle M. Bourdeau. « Plus la batterie est grosse, plus il y a de risques. »
Si ce type de batterie demeure néanmoins très populaire, c’est qu’elle possède aussi de nombreux atouts. « Elle est très légère, c’est une batterie qui ne pèse rien comparée à la batterie traditionnelle acide-plomb. Elle va aussi garder sa charge très longtemps, même quand elle est inutilisée », note Jacques Bourdeau.
Son domaine idéal [de la batterie lithium-ion], these are small electronic devices. The more we push [pour de plus gros appareils] and the more risk there is.
Jacques Bourdeau, safety engineer
In the case of electric cars, Mr. Bourdeau points out that the risk can be better managed, because the elements of the battery are not necessarily concentrated in the same place, unlike a scooter for example, where everything is stored in the same space. restricted.
According to Jacques Bourdeau, the risk is higher if a lithium-ion battery is left to discharge below a certain threshold. “We must not go too low,” he says, without wanting to specify where this threshold is. But the responsibility should rest with the manufacturers, he believes, adding that there should be a warning, for example, when the battery of a scooter crosses a critical threshold.
Although in principle it is still forbidden to drive an electric scooter in Quebec, this type of vehicle has become more and more popular in recent years.
A stable fire report
In 2022, the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) recorded 1,303 building fires, including 304 major fires. A balance sheet slightly higher than that of 2021 (1,245 fires, including 278 major), but lower than that of 2020 (1,385 fires, including 317 major). Twelve people lost their lives in a fire in Montreal in 2022, one less than in 2021.
It should be noted that more than 20% of fires caused by kitchen equipment occurred in the boroughs of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.
The SIM also responded to more than 118 emergency calls, including medical emergencies, triggered alarm systems and, of course, building fires. In the vast majority of cases (85%), fires are caused by human error or improper use of equipment. Nearly 40% of fires start in the kitchen, the report notes, and “one in four fires are caused by smoking materials or objects with open flames.”