VANDALIA — A local fire division is issuing a warning about E-scooters after what they called a ‘near miss’ at an apartment building last week.
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On Friday, fire crews from Vandalia and Butler Township responded to a local apartment complex on a report of a fire, according to a social media post from the Vandalia Division of Fire.
Upon arrival, crews found a lithium battery-powered scooter outside of the building with “obvious fire damage.”
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According to the post, the scooter had been “rescued” from the dumpster earlier in the day and brought into the apartment building and plugged into an outlet in the common hallway to charge.
The battery failed, began smoking, sparking, and arcing before catching fire, according to the post.
A resident in the apartment heard the commotion and took the scooter and charger and took it outside to prevent a larger fire from occurring.
Fire investigators found the scooter with a heavily damaged lithium battery, shorted out, and with fire damage.
The Division of Fire considered this incident a “near miss.”
They said that if the scooter had been in the hallway for any period of time or overnight, the fire could have been devastating, and most residents on the first, second, and possibly third floors would have been trapped in their apartments.
The scooter was plugged into an outlet in the primary escape path for the entire building and was 10 feet from the primary stairs.
The division of fire also recommended that devices like E-scooters not be stored or charged inside apartments or apartment buildings.
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