STOW—Governor Maura Healey has declared Oct. 5-11, 2025, as Fire Prevention Week in Massachusetts, joining the nation's longest-running public health and safety observance and promoting this year's theme, "Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home."

"This year's Fire Prevention Week theme promotes the safe use, charging, and disposal of the lithium-ion batteries that power countless consumer devices in homes across the Commonwealth," Governor Healey wrote in a proclamation.

"Lithium-ion batteries can pack a large amount of power into a very small device," said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. "This means that damaged or defective batteries can fail rapidly and violently. A lithium-ion battery fire can release sparks, flames, burning cells, and toxic, flammable gases. I want to thank Governor Healey for bringing attention to the steps we can all take to protect ourselves and our loved ones."

This year's Fire Prevention Week theme educates residents on buying, charging, and recycling lithium-ion batteries safely to prevent fires and explosions. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the National Fire Protection Association, which coordinates Fire Prevention Week each year, offer these battery safety tips:

• When buying lithium-ion batteries or devices that use them, choose products that are listed by an independent testing laboratory. Look for a certification mark from an independent lab such as UL or Intertek/ETL. This means the product meets important safety standards.
• Charge devices safely. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and use the cords and charging equipment that came with the product. Buy new chargers from the manufacturer or one that the manufacturer has approved. Charge your device on a hard surface. Don't overcharge your device, and unplug it or remove the battery when it's fully charged. 
• Recycle batteries responsibly. Don't throw lithium-ion batteries in household trash or recycling bins. Batteries crushed or damaged in a compactor truck or transfer station could start a fire that becomes difficult to control. Instead, recycle your device or battery at a safe battery recycling location. Take them to a household hazardous waste collection event in your community or visit www.call2recycle.org for a recycling spot near you. 

In late 2023, the Department of Fire Services launched a data collection tool to help officials track the extent of fires, explosions, and other lithium-ion battery incidents. This investigative checklist is used by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit, and local fire investigators are encouraged to use it as well. While previous reporting through the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System suggested about 20 lithium-ion battery fires per year, the new tool identified that many in its first two months. About 135 lithium-ion battery fires were reported in Massachusetts last year, and even that number is believed to be a significant undercount.

DFS also held a lithium-ion battery symposium in 2023, bringing subject matter experts together with fire service leaders to discuss hazards, strategies, investigations, medical concerns, and other aspects of the lithium-ion battery issue that firefighters are confronting across the country and around the world. 

You can learn more about lithium-ion battery safety at the Department of Fire Services' website.

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