Firefighters extinguish Camperdown unit fire after suspected lithium-ion battery fire

Firefighters have battled yet another fire suspected to be caused by a lithium-ion battery being left on charge overnight.

Damage inside a unit after a lithium-ion battery left on charge is believed to have caused a fire in Camperdown in the early hours of Monday morning. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSW

Firefighters have battled yet another fire believed to have been caused by a lithium-ion battery being left on charge overnight, with plumes of thick black smoke coming from the building and more than 50 people evacuated.

Fire and Rescue NSW initially responded to an automatic fire alarm in a unit complex on the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Rd and Lyons Rd about 2.40am.

The first crews arrived to find “large volumes of thick black smoke coming from the building” with 10 trucks and about 40 firefighters tackling the fire on the second level of the complex.

There were unconfirmed reports of people trapped in the building, however, firefighters quickly searched the site and ensured all residents were out safely and accounted for.

More than 50 people were evacuated with one person being treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics. They weren’t transported to hospital.

Full extent of the damage inside the unit. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSW

Firefighters enter a unit building in Camperdown in the early hours of Monday. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSW

One unit was destroyed in the blaze while the remaining residents have been allowed to return to their homes.

Fire investigators have determined the fire started when a lithium-ion battery, believed to belong to a power tool or similar device, was charging on a lounge and caught alight.

Fire and Rescue NSW recommends people to install active smoke alarms in homes and garages when charging these devices.

It also recommends buying reputable batteries and not to leave devices charging in bedrooms or on beds, sofas, or around highly flammable materials.

Those with these batteries should attempt to charge the devices outside.

It comes less than a week after three people were rushed to hospital after a fire ripped through a home in Woronora after an e-scooter caught alight in the garage.

One man suffered severe burns and was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry said last week crews had responded to more than 80 of these devices “this year alone”, averaging almost two devices a week.

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