Lithium-ion Batteries Tied to Deadly Stafford Township, NJ, Fire
Lithium-ion batteries are being eyed as the cause of a fire last week that left an elderly woman dead.
Betty Matero, 92, who was unable to escape the fire in her Stafford Township house early Friday, died of smoke inhalation.
Two others managed to escape, NBC10 reported.
"I got my mother-in-law in the bedroom upstairs," a 911 caller said. "I can't reach her, I can't even see...the black, black smoke."
Investigators say a failure of lithium-ion batteries likely caused the accidental fire, which started in a storage container outside.
Fire authorities are warning residents about the dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries.
"You want to make sure that you're only charging them when you can supervise them. And when they are fully charged, take them off the charger. Don't leave them on it," Kelly Ransdell with the National Fire Protection Association said.
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Susan Nicol
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Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.