We should not sit idly by and watch, when a dog chews a lithium battery. When we turned to the news this morning, we read how another such incident nearly caused a house fire.
We share the news we found on the BBC website, and are pleased to learn the family responded in time. Then we turn briefly to the science behind the incident, and share why we should take these events seriously.
A Family Dog Damages a Battery
Firefighters in Devon, England responded to a call to investigate a burning smell. At first, they could not find the cause because they were looking for flames.
But when they made a second pass, they discovered the burning smell came from the dog’s bedding, and in particular a charred t-shirt that almost, but did not quite catch fire.
When the first responders root-caused the incident, they found that the family dog had picked up the lithium-ion battery from a child’s toy, brought it back to its own bed, and had been happily chewing it.
You can’t take normal behavior like that out of a dog. The only practical option is to accept the advice the fire service gave the parents. We must learn to keep loose batteries away from children and pets.
So that, in a nutshell, is what can happen, when when a dog chews a lithium battery. Similar stories keep repeating themselves. Would it help if we understood the science behind this story?
What’s Inside Lithium Batteries?
Lithium-ion batteries contain a gel-like liquid inside, that surrounds their components and can burn. When the dog bit the battery casing, its teeth punctured the metal. Chewing then rearranged the contents so they caused a short circuit.
That short circuit released a great deal of energy, and enough heat to ignite the liquid. A fire broke out inside the casing. This could have spread to the dog’s bedding if the first responders had not arrived in time.
More Information
Dog Bites a Lithium-Ion Battery
