Charging Battery Sparked Fire In Westborough Hotel: Firefighters

WESTBOROUGH, MA — Westborough firefighters are warning residents to keep an eye on rechargeable batteries following a recent fire in town.

Last week, Westborough firefighters responded to a hotel room after a laptop caught fire due to an overheated battery. The hotel room had a sprinkler, and so the fire was put out quickly and no one was injured, firefighters said.

"Please be cautious when leaving battery operated items unattended when charging. An overheated battery can cause it to fail and promote 'thermal runaway,' which means it can enter an uncontrollable, self heating condition resulting in fire," the department said in a Facebook post.

A U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission study of lithium-ion batteries found over 25,000 fires or overheating incidents in a five-year period.