An investigation is underway to determine whether a fire in a three-storey, eight-apartment building in Sherbrooke on Monday morning was caused by the exploding battery of an electric bicycle.
No one was injured in the fire, but it caused extensive damage to the building on Boisés Street in the south of the city.
In an interview with Réseau de l'information, Sherbrooke fire service division chief Martin Primeau said that it was residents of the building who informed firefighters of the exploding bicycle shortly before the fire broke out at around 8:30 am. He assured them that this hypothesis would be examined by the investigators.
Three alarms were sounded to extinguish the flames.
A city bus was sent to the site to provide temporary shelter, and Canadian Red Cross volunteers were also on hand to help.
Faced with an increasing number of cases of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries used in electric mobility devices, Health Canada published an advisory on May 11.
In the advisory containing several recommendations, Health Canada wrote that the lithium-ion batteries in these bicycles can undergo "thermal runaway." This occurs when excessive heat builds up in the battery due to damage, failure or misuse.
This excessive heat, combined with the battery's highly flammable contents, can lead to explosions or fires that are extremely difficult to extinguish, according to Health Canada.
The federal department added that it is important to recharge and store lithium-ion batteries safely and to replace them only with parts from the original manufacturer. It is also important never to modify or tamper with a lithium-ion battery or attempt to manufacture one, as this could lead to short circuits, overheating, fires or explosions.
Health Canada added that in the United States, between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 28, last year, authorities received reports from 39 different states of at least 208 fires or overheating incidents linked to electric mobility.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 26, 2023.
