ION Battery Explodes In Hospital Monday
During the early evening hours on Monday, December 5, 2022 around 5 PM firefighters responded to Northwest Health Hospital for a supposed lithium ion battery that had exploded on the fourth floor of the hospital, according to Liberty Township Fire Department. Northwest Health Hospital remained un-evacuated during the emergency as fire crews worked to investigate the cause of the fire and ventilate the floor of smoke.
No injuries were reported during the incident and the hospital continued operations despite an emergency on the fourth floor. This is made possible by the engineering of the hospital building of firewalls and doors that automatically close when a situation occurs, as did this one.
Employees working on the fourth floor attempted a fire extinguish but the smoke had filled the area at that time and required ventilation by the fire department. There was minimal damage caused to the hospital, officials reported.
Lithium ion batteries are extremely powerful and repeated charging of a lithium ion battery has the potential for explosion. Those chances according to researchers are one in a million in occurring and rare.
Researchers and chemists at the institute of Theoretical Chemistry at Ulm University explains a battery catches fire from the result of a short circuit caused by the formation of branch-like dendrites. To date, lithium-ion batteries have been powering smartphones, laptops, and even iPads.
Always unplug devices when charging is completed to avoid continues over-charging and store them in a safe location until used.
