Firefighters in Montreal, Canada are upset for a couple of reasons. One, the last four Stanley Cup champions have been Tampa Bay (twice), Las Vegas, and Florida. There’s not one team from Canada among them. Secondly, these professionals who battle fires for a living have a warning for smartphone users that no one seems to heed. The Montreal firefighters and emergency officials want phone users to stop charging their phones overnight.
Most people prefer to charge overnight since they typically can’t use their handset while they are sleeping. If you are addicted to your phone like many are, you can close your eyes, turn your attention away from your phone without feeling withdrawal symptoms, and fall asleep. When you awaken in the morning, your phone is fully charged and you are fully rested.
Smoke from a fire started in a container of lithium ion batteries starts to fill the air above the Port of Montreal last month. | Image credit-TVA Nouvelles
Montreal firefighters are still thinking about a devastating fire they fought at the Port of Montreal late last month when a container carrying 15,000 kilograms of lithium ion batteries, equivalent to about 200 Tesla cars, caught on fire resulting in a large blaze. Thick smoke and the smell of burning chemicals was in the air for hours. 100 people near “ground zero” were evacuated.
Thick smoke can be seen from a fire started in a container of lithium ion batteries at the Port of Montreal last month. | Image credit-CBC News
Emergency officials in the city of Montreal are telling smartphone users not to charge their phones at night while they sleep. The concern they have is with the lithium ion batteries used to power smartphones. These can catch on fire while your phone is charging and you’re fast asleep. When one of these batteries ignites, it does so with an intensity similar to a blowtorch or a Roman Candle. Such fires are difficult to put out and doing so requires plenty of time and plenty of water.
To make sure that you are safely charging your device and to avoid watching it catch on fire, follow these instructions:
- Use the proper charger and don’t rely on cheaply made knockoffs.
- Replace old batteries with new ones.
- Charge your phone only when you’re awake.
- Charge your phone on a hard surface.
- Have a working smoke alarm.
Since the number of products that rely on the use of lithium ion batteries is rising, the number of fires that involve such technology increases every year. By making sure that you are awake and alert when charging your phone, if there is a fire, you can snuff it out before it spreads and incapacitates you, leaving your lungs filled with toxic smoke.