Family narrowly escape house fire sparked by a battery

Family narrowly escape house fire sparked by a battery
Check your BMI

A home south-east of Perth turned into a furnace, swallowed by flames in minutes.

It happened in Forrestfield at about 3.30am today, while a couple, their 12-month-old baby and two dogs all slept inside.

The family escaped the blaze with only seconds to spare as neighbours raced to help.

READ MORE: Police and athletes brave winter chill for the polar plunge

Forrestfield fire

toonsbymoonlight

A 38-year-old man was taken to hospital, struggling to breathe.

The house was beyond saving and it's believed a lithium-ion battery on a power tool is to blame.

"The house is 100 per cent damaged, so its inhabitable," investigator Darryl Krammer said.

This is the 107th house fire caused by lithium-ion batteries so far this year.

It's a growing concern, with four of them happening across the state in the past 48 hours.

READ MORE: Paramedic becomes patient after alleged attack on the job

Forrestfield fireForrestfield fire

"These are only the ones we know about, that we are being called to," Krammer said, suggesting there could be more.

"It is a forever increasing risk to the community."

Lithium-ion powers devices like portable chargers, electric vehicles, mobile phones, digital cameras, even vacuum cleaners.

The advice is to charge the items like power tools outside your home and install a smoke alarm in your garage.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x