Dog Starts House Fire After Chewing on Lithium-Ion Battery

A dog in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, unintentionally started a house fire after chewing on a lithium-ion battery.

According to the Chapel Hill Fire Department (CHFD), security footage from the homeowner’s camera captured the incident. The video shows the dog, Colton, gnawing on the battery while on the carpet. Moments later, smoke begins to rise, and Colton quickly backs away.

“Colton is a good boy, but he counter-surfed while his humans (a CHFD family) were away and got hold of a device with a lithium ion battery,” the department shared in a social media post on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

The CHFD explained that the battery had been charged and unplugged and was not part of any recalls — but it also “wasn’t stored safely.”

“Thankfully, he wasn’t injured, and other than some smoke damage and a ruined rug, the house is fine,” the department added. “On the heels of Fire Prevention Week, we want to remind you how important it is to safely charge, store, and use lithium ion batteries.”

David Sasser, Colton’s owner and a firefighter with the CHFD, told local news outlet WRAL that he received a notification from his home security system alerting him to the fire.

“[My] heart sank. I had no idea what was going on. I had no clue what it could possibly be and came home to find that the rug had burned up,” Sasser told the station.

Sasser said that no one in the family was home when the fire started, but they were nearby and able to respond quickly. “Thankfully, it pretty much fizzled out because of the rug and because we were home so quickly,” he explained. “[The rug] was the only thing we lost.”

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) warns that lithium-ion batteries are common in many household devices and systems, but they can pose a fire risk if damaged or improperly used.

“While these batteries provide an effective and efficient source of power, the likelihood of them overheating, catching on fire, and even leading to explosions increases when they are damaged or improperly used, charged, or stored,” the NFPA notes on its website.