Fit battery fire detection and plan the emergency response
A lithium battery fire cannot be put out with a hand extinguisher. Detection buys time to escape, and the plan must be to leave and call the fire service.
How
- Fit smoke alarms in rooms, basements and attached garages that hold a battery system, interconnected with the house alarms.
- Where a smoke alarm cannot be used, such as many garages, fit a listed heat detector interconnected with the smoke alarms (US example: California Residential Code R330.7).
- Know what extinguishers can and cannot do. The Massachusetts fire service says foam, CO2, dry chemical and Class D extinguishers are ineffective on lithium-ion battery fires.
- Fire and Rescue NSW (Australia) says extinguishers are not likely to fully put out a lithium-ion battery fire, and to use one only if trained and from a safe distance.
- Keep a CO2 or dry powder extinguisher only for small fires in the inverter or wiring, not the battery.
- If a battery smokes, hisses, swells or burns: get everyone out, close the doors if safe, and call the fire service. Tell them a lithium battery system is involved.
- Do not go back in for any reason. The vented gases and smoke are highly toxic and flammable (Fire and Rescue NSW).
- Battery cells can reignite days after the fire seems out, so let firefighters decide when the area is safe.
- Label the battery type and the shutdown points at the main entrance, and tell your local fire service the system exists (safety-8).
Safety: Do not try to fight a battery fire. Leave, shut the door and call the fire service.
Do these first
Sources
- California Residential Code R330.7 and R330.8: ESS fire detection and impact protection. GoCodeBook (California Residential Code mirror, US example), accessed 2026-11
- Advisory: Dangers of Lithium Batteries (memo to fire departments, 6 February 2023). Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, State Fire Marshal (US example), accessed 2026-11
- What should I do if my battery is smoking or on fire?. Fire and Rescue NSW (Australia), accessed 2026-11
- Residential Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Fire and Rescue NSW (Australia), accessed 2026-11