Lithium batteries likely the cause of garage fire which lights up St. Thomas sky

A pair of homes are destroyed on Penhale Avenue in St. Thomas, Ont. after an electrical fire set a garage ablaze Sunday night.

Just after 7 p.m., the St. Thomas Fire Department (STFD) responded to several 911 calls for a house on fire on Penhale.

“When crews arrived it was engulfed in flames, extending over to the neighbor's house,” said Shannon Ashton, fire prevention officer with STFD.Firefighters attack a blaze on Penhale Ave. in St. Thomas, Ont. on Sunday Sept. 29, 2024 (Source: Frank Pelsoczi)

Both families were home at the time, and the owner of the home where the fire started quickly alerted his wife and children to get out of the home.

“The husband tried to put it out and it just kept extending and got out of control," said Ashton. “He was unable to do any more, so he had to get out. He called us along with multiple 911 calls as the fire and smoke could be seen across the city.”

Firefighters were able to rescue the family dog from the backyard.

Officials say the homeowner was a duck hunter and had a lot of supplies in the garage, including lithium batteries, used in the hobby.

“Here we have some of the batteries we pulled from the garage,” said Matt Rumas, fire prevention officer with the STFD who was showing some of the items collected from the fire. “You can see that the cap there was attached to a battery and we're going to have to try to find where that battery is in the fire this morning.”

Rumas collected the batteries and brought them back near the dumpster at the fire hall, saying they could easily ignite again. St. Thomas Fire Prevention Officer Matt Rumas shows off the Lithium-ion batteries which were potentially the cause of a massive fire in St. Thomas Sunday evening (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)

“This one is still reacting a little bit and these hold a charge long after,” said Rumas. “This could still be a fire hazard even up to a week later.”

Rumas added lithium batteries are generally safe and stable, but when overheated they can catch fire and self-ignite, “We're actually going to be coming up with a lithium-ion safety campaign coming up very soon. So this just happened to be, bad timing or good timing, depending on how you look at it.”

St. Thomas Fire and St. Thomas Police Service (STPS) were both involved in the investigation.

“A joint investigation between police and [firefighters] showed that the fire was accidental in nature and there is no concern for public safety,” STPS said in a statement Monday. “We would like to thank all first responders involved, especially St Thomas Fire for their professionalism and hard work.”

While the batteries are the likely cause of the fire, it is still under investigation.

The homeowners lost everything, leaving with just their clothes on their backs. Neighbours have started to rally around them, and are now fundraising to help.