Lithium Batteries a risk management issue.
I read this morning that the NSW Fire and Rescue have today reported that there have been 45 fires directly related to lithium batteries since the beginning of the 2024 year.
Sadly also two people have lost their lives in the fires and possibly a third yet to be confirmed.
The reality is that Lithium batteries are in many items today and we need to personally manage the risk.
It appears to me that the majority of the fires occur in cheaper appliances where the battery management system is not what it ought to be. I do not leave any batteries on charge overnight and have things like power tool battery chargers on time clocks so that they turn off at night.
The other big issue is having sufficient smoke detectors in your home. I wrote about this only recently. I attach a link here to the article in which I explain the system I settled on after a lot of research.
I know that a lot of golf clubs have issued directives that golf buggies can no longer be charged at the course. While this improves the risk management for the club it only moves the problem to people’s homes which causes me grave concern especially when you hear of the number of fires (not necessarily all related to golf buggy batteries) that have been reported in NSW alone.
Earlier this year, I went to the LMI College and LMI RiskCoach teams and asked if they could put together a short course on the risks associated with the batteries. They were one step a head of me and they advised they had researched the topic and had a course already uploaded on the LMI College Continuing Professional Development Portal. Well done to all those involved.
