"I smelled burning, then everything happened so fast"

Stanwell resident shares warning after Lithium‑ion battery fire

What started as an ordinary Friday afternoon quickly became frightening for Stanwell resident Alice — and it’s an experience she hopes others can learn from.

After cleaning her kitchen, Alice placed her cordless hand‑held vacuum to the side. About 30 minutes later, she noticed a burning smell. Smoke soon began filling the room.

“I went back into the kitchen and saw the vacuum smoking,” she said. “I panicked, picked it up and carried it outside.”

Moments later, the vacuum made a small explosion and flames appeared from the back of the unit, near the motor. Alice immediately called 999.

“I’m incredibly grateful the firefighters got there so fast.”

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service arrived and extinguished the fire. The affected area was around five square metres and, thankfully, no one was injured and the fire didn’t spread.

“It was frightening — everything happened so quickly,” Alice said. “I’m incredibly grateful the firefighters got there so fast.”

Alice had bought the vacuum through social media, somehting she now urges people to think carefully about. “These products can look the same, but it’s so important to buy from a trusted seller. I wouldn’t want the same to happen to anyone else.”

Lithium-ion batteries

Steve Love, Station Commander at Surrey Fire and Rescue says Alice’s experience highlights a risk present in many homes.

“If you’re reading this on your phone, using a cordless vacuum or charging an e-bike, you’re probably relying on a lithium‑ion battery. They work safely every day, but the key is buying from reputable suppliers and using the item correctly.”

In this incident, the battery was believed to be faulty. However, fires can also occur when batteries are:

• poorly made or counterfeit
• damaged or dropped
• charged incorrectly
• left charging unattended
• disposed of in household waste

Disposing of lithium‑ion batteries safely

Battery fire at the John Gunner & Co Recycling and Waste Management Centre Guildford in April.

Lithium‑ion batteries can be a serious fire risk if thrown away incorrectly. To dispose of them safely you should:

• Take them to your local Community Recycling Centre and use the correct drop‑off point.
• Return them to participating stores or supermarkets.

In recent months, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has attended fires at waste and recycling sites caused by batteries being binned incorrectly.

Crews also dealt with a large‑scale lorry fire on the M3 involving multiple lithium‑ion batteries. The incident took hours to bring under control and the road was closed all day. At its peak, there were three fire engines and two water carriers at the scene.

Lorry fire on the M3 in January.

More information

Find your nearest donation or recycling point by visiting the Recycle Your Electricals website. You can also find information on the Surrey Environmental Partnership website.

For more information on Lithium batteries, check out Surrey Fire and Rescue Service web pages.