Authorities are warning residents not to throw lithium-ion batteries in the trash after one sparked a dangerous fire inside a Roseville garbage truck.<\/p>\n
The City of Roseville released dramatic video showing the moment the battery ignited in the back of the truck.<\/p>\n
First came a cloud of white smoke. Seconds later, flames.<\/p>\n
“It’s not a slow ignition process. It’s very rapid,” said Justin Sylvia with Sacramento Fire.<\/p>\n
Officials said the lithium-ion battery had been thrown in the trash and was crushed inside the garbage truck, sparking the fire. It was the fourth such fire in Roseville this year.<\/p>\n
Sacramento Fire officials say the smoke from those fires can also create a toxic gas cloud.<\/p>\n
“Fire, chemical reaction, chain reaction, something could happen and it could produce toxic results, as well as that fire hazard,” Sylvia said.<\/p>\n
Lithium-ion batteries have also sparked fires in Sacramento. They are commonly found in laptops, e-bikes, power tools and other rechargeable devices.<\/p>\n
Officials say warnings not to throw them into regular trash bins go beyond city limits.<\/p>\n
“Once you see a lithium-ion battery rupture inside the back of a trash truck, the chain reaction happens so quickly and so violently that it causes that fire to expand very rapidly,” Sylvia said.<\/p>\n
It may sound like a warning people already know, but fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are rising as the devices become more common.<\/p>\n
Many cities, including Roseville, offer free drop-off and pickup options to help residents safely dispose of dead batteries.<\/p>\n