As lithium-ion batteries power more of our everyday tools, the Los Angeles Fire Department warns the batteries are also supercharging more fires.
Capt. Richard Thompson, the department's hazmat program manager, showed 7 On Your Side Investigates the meters firefighters are now using at every fire to determine if the smoke they see contains hydrogen fluoride - a gas found in the white smoke from lithium-ion battery fires that can turn into an acid when it comes into contact with the moisture on your skin and in your lungs.
"We did have one firefighter injured due to a lithium-ion battery event," Thompson said. "That member was off for a significant amount of time."
He said LAFD is so under-resourced that it just has one full-time hazmat team.
However, there are now an average of 45 lithium-ion battery fires in the city every week.
After a series of apartment fires in New York City - many of which were linked to lithium-ion battery powered scooters - city leaders in the city passed regulations that e-bikes and e-scooters must contain specific certified batteries.
Those are batteries that have a "UL" logo on them.
"Those 'UL' regulations solidify that those devices, those batteries, those chargers have gone through a series of aggressive testing," said Thompson, who's now lobbying Los Angeles City Council to pass similar regulations like they have in New York City.
He also said his best advice is to not leave lithium-ion batteries charging unattended. It may be rare, but he says some have over-charged and over-heated into a fire.