Toronto Fire Services say lithium-ion battery fires continue to rise in Toronto, with two more incidents reported over the last three days.
The first incident was a two-alarm fire on Weston Road on Saturday around 4:30 p.m. where a lithium-ion battery caught fire.
The second occurred on Monday on Wheeler Avenue around 9:45 p.m. In that incident, a lithium-ion battery overheated and malfunctioned.
While no injuries were reported in either fire, the incidents are part of a troubling trend of the dramatic increase in fires involving lithium-ion batteries in the City of Toronto this year.
Fire chief Jim Jessop posted on X saying the two latest fires bring the total number of lithium-ion battery related blazes to 85 this year, a 40 per cent year-to-date increase. Fifteen people have been injured and one person has died as a results of the fires.
August 18th. And now, 85 Lithium Ion Battery fires in #Toronto pic.twitter.com/Rh10W8t1G8
Last week, Toronto Fire responded to five such fires in 72 hours:
Both Jessop and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow are calling on the provincial and federal governments to regulate lithium-ion batteries to ensure the enforcement of basic safety standards.
Jessop says that in the majority of fire investigations where lithium-ion batteries are at fault, micro-mobility devices and e-bikes with unregulated and uncertified batteries are involved.
“That is primarily because there is no standard in Canada which these batteries have to meet,” he says.
In an unrelated press conference on Aug. 13, Chow backed Jessop, saying stricter regulations need to be imposed on the import of lithium-ion batteries.
“We have to control the import [so] that only batteries that are fit, that are in good form should be allowed into this country. Because people are dying, because of the enormous amount of damage [these batteries cause],” she said.
“Change the fire code and building codes so that we are ready to deal with this huge problem… we absolutely have to regulate these batteries or else we’re going to see more death and destruction. Enough already.”
