A family dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery powered hand warmer is suspected of sparking a house fire in Orléans on Thursday morning.
“It was confirmed through interior security camera footage provided by the homeowner that the family dog had grabbed a skiing glove equipped with a lithium-ion battery used for heating,” Ottawa Fire Services spokesperson Nick De Fazio said in a social-media message.
“The dog brought the glove onto a couch and began chewing it, damaging the battery. The damaged lithium-ion battery subsequently failed and ignited, causing the fire.”
A monitoring company notified Ottawa Fire Services just after 9 a.m. reporting an active fire alarm in a two-storey, single-family home in the 200 block of Bevington Walk.
The monitoring company told firefighters they had spoken to the homeowner, who was headed back to the residence, and told OFS that interior security cameras confirmed an active fire.
Additional 9-1-1 callers who had driven past the residence also reported visible flames.
Firefighters arrived four minutes after being dispatched, confirming heavy smoke and flames venting from a first-storey bay window. They entered the residence through the front door and fought the blaze while a secondary crew concentrated on checking for potentially trapped people.
During that search, firefighters located the dog and safely carried the animal outside. The dog was not injured.
The fire was declared under control about 10 minutes after firefighters arrived on scene and before flames could spread further through the structure.
There were no reported injuries.
One adult and one child were displaced as a result of the fire.
Ottawa Fire Services issued a safety reminder that lithium-ion batteries could pose a serious fire risk after being damaged, punctured, crushed or improperly handled.
People should immediately properly dispose of any battery or device showing signs of damage, swelling, overheating or malfunction.
Users should also safely store those types of hand-warmer gloves out of reach of pets and children.
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