Jan. 5 four alarm fire caused by lithium ion battery
The initial ignition of a lithium ion battery on a shelf in Wreckless Hobbies. Source: Department of Fire Services 
Flames grow from the battery.
The shelves burn and store fills with smoke as the fire spreads.
The initial ignition of a lithium ion battery on a shelf in Wreckless Hobbies. Source: Department of Fire Services
Flames grow from the battery.
The shelves burn and store fills with smoke as the fire spreads.
Recently released security camera footage confirmed the fire at a commercial building on Cranberry Highway Jan. 5 was started by a lithium ion battery.
The footage shows smoke emitting from a battery on a shelf in Wreckless Hobbies, one of several stores housed in the building. Seconds later, flames erupt from the battery and engulf the shelf and then the majority of the store.
A press release from the state fire marshal reiterated that the fire was accidental and caused by the “failure of a lithium ion battery.”
The Onset Fire Department received an alarm around 11:40 a.m. for the building at 3086 Cranberry Highway in Onset which houses Rent-A-Center and Not Your Average Antiques as well as Wreckless Hobbies.
Smoke was pouring out of the building when firefighters arrived and Onset Assistant Fire Chief Howard Andersen said first responders had “zero visibility" as they entered the still burning stores.
Anderson described the inside of the building as a “heavy heat condition” and said the cold weather and wind fanned the flames, making the blaze more challenging to extinguish.
Firefighters became aware of hundreds of lithium-ion batteries at the fire's source as they brought it under control.
Several batteries reignited as firefighters worked in the damaged building.
"Anytime lithium ion batteries are exposed to high heat or submerged in water, it can cause a reaction that makes the batteries continue to burn," Andersen said.
The Onset Fire Department requested a Hazmat response team to assist with disposal of the batteries. State Hazmat technicians responded to the request and carefully loaded the remaining batteries into dumpsters layered with sand for safe removal
Onset emergency services were assisted by first responders from Wareham, Marion, Middleboro, Carver, Plymouth, Sandwich and Providence, Rhode Island. Firefighters stayed on the scene until it was cleared at 9:30 p.m.
“Lithium-ion batteries power many of the devices we use every day,” Osswald said. “The fire damage and heavy, toxic smoke from this incident demonstrate just how serious we all have to be about battery safety.”
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