SFFD announces new fire code for lithium-ion battery safety

Bay City News
·2 min read
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(BCN) — On Thursday a new fire code policy went into effect in San Francisco, surrounding the charging and storage of lithium-ion batteries for Powered Mobility Devices (PMDs), the SF Fire Department announced.

Due to a significant increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, all PMDs in San Francisco are required to be safety-certified. PMDs are machines that run on lithium-ion batteries, primarily modes of transportation such as electric bikes, scooters, hoverboards or skateboards.

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Devices like wheelchairs, utilized by individuals with disabilities, do not fall under the category of PMDs.

According to SF Fire, in order to be safety certified, PMDs must comply with requirements by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards UL 2849 or UL 2272; European (EN) standards EN 15194 or EN 17128; or other safety standard of an accredited laboratory, approved by the San Francisco Fire Department.

Requirements include: Up to four PMDs are allowed to be stored and charged within a single dwelling unit. If there are more than five PMDs, more fire safety systems are necessary, such as sprinklers, a smoke detection system and three feet spacing between PMDs while charging.

All PMDs, including detachable batteries and chargers, must be directly connected to a wall outlet for charging; extension cords and power strips are not allowed.

PMDs must adhere to the manufacturer’s guidelines for charging, using the provided chargers and batteries.

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PMD batteries that are dropped, cracked or damaged in any way must be self-inspected.

If damaged, battery is prohibited from being used on PMDs. The use of reassembled or reconditioned lithium-ion PMD batteries is illegal.

Disposing of lithium-ion batteries in landfill, recycling or compost bins is also strictly prohibited. All lithium-ion batteries must be recycled through one of San Francisco’s designated battery recycling programs.

The fire department warns that fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are especially harmful due to the chemicals that compose the batteries, their tendency to flashover and rapidly expand, as well as the difficulty of extinguishing them.

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