How Schools Can Build Awareness About Lithium Battery Safety

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), every year, hundreds of fires break out in residence halls and other student housing at boarding schools, colleges, and universities across the country. While cooking-related incidents remain the leading cause of these events, the number of fires that start in students’ rooms or residential common areas due to lithium-ion (or Li-ion) batteries continues to rise rapidly. This growing risk is setting off alarms for all school leaders, particularly because these small, rechargeable, and high-wattage energy sources are literally everywhere. Lithium batteries power everyday items that students, faculty, and staff rely on, like cell phones, laptops, tablets, earbuds, and smart watches. In addition, they fuel handheld game consoles, drones, micromobility devices like e-bikes and e-scooters, and many other increasingly popular electronics and tech gadgets.

While Li-ion batteries are generally safe, if a battery is damaged or defective or if it’s not charged or disposed of correctly, there is considerable risk that it will overheat, release toxic gases, ignite, and/or explode, and potentially lead to a fire catastrophe. To help protect your campus residents and residential spaces from the hazards of Li-ion batteries and the devices they power, a preferred practice is to educate all stakeholders, from students and their families to campus housing staff, resident assistants, and administrators, on their dangers and preferred safety practices.

Safety Tips for Charging and Disposing of Lithium-Ion Batteries and Battery-Powered Devices

The AssuredPartners Education Practice Group has curated insights from several authorities in fire and campus safety that may help you develop educational and awareness-building materials promoting the preferred safety practices for lithium batteries and Li-ion-powered devices. By disseminating this information, your institution can empower students and other community members to play a proactive role in minimizing the chances that a dangerous incident will happen. Following are three key areas where your school may want to consider focusing its communications:

1. How to charge batteries and devices the right way.

Research has demonstrated that the majority of lithium-battery-related fires begin when a device is being charged or has just completed charging, making it especially critical that students counteract this risk by:

• Placing devices on a hard and dry, moisture-free surface when charging, like a desk, table, or countertop, and never resting them on a bed, couch, carpeting, or any other upholstered or soft item.
• Avoiding a circuit overload by charging one device or device battery at a time.
• Unplugging a device and charging cord or removing the battery when it’s reached its full charge, and never leaving it charging overnight.
• Making sure devices, especially large ones, are not blocking primary exits, doors, and windows when charging or being stored, because if the device catches fire, it may cut off a critical escape route.
• Being present when charging e-bikes, e-scooters, hoverboards, and the like, and making sure to charge these devices outdoors or in a well-ventilated space where they won’t fall over, be near any structures or flammable items, or be exposed to direct sunlight or extreme temperatures.

2. How to spot the warning signs of a looming issue.

Students should regularly inspect their devices, batteries, and chargers, and be able to recognize when a product may not be safe to use any longer, or worse, is about to catch fire. Some common issues, like breaking or fraying charging wires, may be simple to address by buying replacements specifically designed for the device and only buying them through the original manufacturer or from a source recommended by the manufacturer. However, a student should immediately stop device use and notify a residence hall staff member or designated emergency personnel if they notice any of the following:

• White- or gray-colored smoke coming from a battery.
• A lump or bulge in a device, which may indicate the battery is swelling up from heat.
• A discolored, misshapen, blistering, punctured, or leaking battery.
• A strange odor, odd noises, or excessive heat coming from a device or battery.

3. When and how to dispose of batteries responsibly.

Despite being rechargeable, lithium batteries won’t last forever. If the battery run time—how long it’s able to keep a device powered up—noticeably decreases, and the time it takes to fully charge the battery increases significantly, it’s typically time to buy a new battery and dispose of the old one. However, Li-ion batteries thrown in the trash or a regular recycling bin are at risk of catching fire—not to mention that doing so could directly conflict with state or municipal regulations. It’s recommended that schools provide students with direction on the safe and compliant manner to get rid of these batteries, which typically includes:

• Taping the positive (+) side of the battery with clear packing tape, electrical tape, or duct tape.
• Putting each used battery in a separate, clear plastic bag.
• Taking them to a local battery recycler.
• Placing only discharged batteries in the battery collection container, and never putting damaged, defective, or recalled batteries into the box.

There’s never a bad time to conduct a campus outreach campaign highlighting these and other preferred safety practices associated with lithium-ion batteries and the risks they pose to your campus community. From posting tips flyers in campus housing common areas to using emails, text, and your school’s website and social media pages, messaging on this issue should be highly visible and accessible throughout the year. However, one of the key times of year to consider including this information in your schoolwide communication plan is during the back-to-school period, which also happens to coincide with the NFPA’s Campus Fire Safety Month. Other times of year to stress the importance of these safety precautions include the return-to-campus period after a school break and during exam weeks or special events such as Family Weekend, Homecoming, and Commencement, when the number of devices on campus being used or charged at any given time is likely to be at an all-time high.

What Else Can Schools Do to Promote Lithium Battery Safety in Campus Housing?

In addition to educating all stakeholders on the preferred safety practices for lithium batteries and the devices they power, you may want to consider implementing some additional risk management strategies and tactics to better protect your community and campus property:

• Establish lithium-ion battery guidelines for residence hall rooms, including the total maximum grams of lithium-ion batteries and the maximum wattage per battery allowed in rooms.
• Set up several lithium battery drop-off spots in readily accessible common areas around campus, and join forces with a local recycling solutions vendor for collection and disposal.
• Develop specific policies to govern the use, possession, charging, and storage of micromobility devices. For instance, some schools have banned them altogether, while others prohibit their storage,charging, or use within campus-owned or leased buildings and housing.
• Provide convenient and adequate charging infrastructure for e-bikes and other approved micromobility devices. For example, facilities such as charging stations, bike racks, secure storage, and designated parking areas.
• Conduct inspections of residential rooms to ensure students are abiding by all rules and regulations. Consider partnering with the local fire department to identify potential fire hazards, such as overloaded electrical circuits, uncertified charging devices, and batteries.
• Organize training for all campus housing staff, from resident assistants to hall directors and area coordinators, that includes a review of all related safety practices and policies.
• Ensure all students and families are aware of current or new policies, and the repercussions for not adhering to them, by publishing them in the student code of conduct and handbook, in students’ room leases, and on the school website.

If your school needs help with campus communications and education programs, policy development, or crisis response plan testing through a simulation, please contact the AssuredPartners team. We help educational institutions across the U.S. identify, assess, and develop plans to manage their top emerging risks, from lithium-ion battery dangers to cyber threats and liability and property exposures.

Sources:

• https://www.nfpa.org/about-nfpa/press-room/news-releases/2024/nfpa-and-ccfs-offer-resources-to-better-educate-students-about-fire-risks-in-college-housing
• https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/building-and-life-safety/campus-and-dorm-fires
• https://www.ue.org/risk-management/compliance/residence-hall-fire-safety-tips/
• https://www.ue.org/risk-management/premises-safety/campus-hoverboard-policies/
• https://www.myccfs.org/assets/docs/StudentFlyers/Li-on%20Batteries-ccfs-lettersize.pdf
• https://www.myccfs.org/assets/docs/StudentFlyers/Li-on%20Batteries-ccfs-lettersize.pdf