Battery causes GR house fire Saturday

A early-morning house fire Saturday was caused by a rechargeable battery pack according to the Green River Fire Department.

Emergency responders were dispatched to the fire at 1050 Wilkes Drive shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday morning. When they arrived, firefighters found the fire to be limited to the home’s main living room. The homeowners were able to extinguish the flames and most of the hot spots when firefighters arrived, though the home suffered extensive smoke damage. The home’s three residents were examined at the scene for smoke inhalation by Castle Rock Ambulance Service. All of the pets inside the home were also evacuated safely.

After the home was ventilated, an investigation revealed the fire was caused by a battery pack for an electric bicycle that had been plugged into a wall outlet. According to Bill Robinson, the department’s fire chief, while the home did have working smoke detectors, the family dog is credited with alerting everyone to the fire, allowing them to exit the house.

Robinson said people charging their battery-powered devices should only charge the batteries to the extent of it being fully charged and not leave it plugged into a charger afterward. He also said batteries or chargers that don’t have an indicator light or reading about how much of a charge the battery has should be replaced for models with a means of reading the charge level.