Lithium-Ion Batteries Spark $75K House Fire

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Lithium-ion batteries on a charger sparked a fire in a Havre de Grace house Sunday morning, the state fire marshal's office said.

The fire was reported just after 10 a.m. in a two-story home at 4411 Webster Lapidum Road. Officials said in a news release that the blaze caused $25,000 damage to the house and $50,000 damage to its contents.

The homeowner was not home when he received an alert from the automatic fire alarm in the home. He called his neighbor to check on the home, and that person discovered a fire inside the kitchen.

Officials said the neighbor rescued two dogs from the house and tried to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. Firefighters with the Level Volunteer Fire Company extinguished the remaining fire and contained the damage to the kitchen.

While Harford County Disaster Assistance was requested, the owners said they would handle the cleanup and repairs, according to the news release.

Investigators later concluded the fire was due to the failure of lithium-ion batteries for remote-controlled boats.