Charger warning after model plane sparks house fire

A model aircraft enthusiast has warned people not to leave lithium batteries unattended while charging after his home was badly damaged in a fire.

Tim Harwood was charging a model in the kitchen of his home in Ashby de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, on Saturday, but a fire broke out while he was outside gardening.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has advised the public to buy batteries, devices and chargers from reputable suppliers and ensure they are using the correct charger for the product.

The 73-year-old said he had followed this advice to the letter - but his home still caught fire and repair work could take about a year to complete.

Recalling the day of the fire, Harwood said: "I was strimming my grass and someone came past and said 'is there supposed to be smoke coming out your kitchen?'"

He said typically the planes charged for an hour, and he had only been strimming the grass for about 20 minutes when he was alerted to the blaze.

"I went in quick, saw the flames, had a quick look then came back out again," he said.

The fire left his kitchen badly damaged - although no other rooms were affected and he was uninjured.

Fire service investigators concluded the blaze was caused by the charging of lithium batteries for his model aeroplanes, but it is not known if the charger or the batteries were to blame.

Harwood, a member of the Delta Hawks Model Flying Club in North West Leicestershire, said: "I've charged batteries for years, and I have loads of them.

"I have a reasonably expensive charger and I am wary of the problems."

Despite this, he suspects from what he saw when the fire broke out that it was the charger that failed.

"You've got to be aware and they are dangerous, and if you use cheap chargers, they can go up in flames," he said.

"My charger was a specific charger for the batteries, it had all protections on and everything.

"It is best to be wary and use a proper charger, even though mine went up in smoke.

"I would be very wary about charging anything when you're not in attendance."

In a social media post, the fire service urged people not to leave lithium-ion batteries charging overnight or when not in attendance, and to always use the manufacturer's charger.

It also advised people to charge batteries on hard, non-combustible surfaces.

Station manager Joe Warren said: "Lithium-ion batteries are in more and more electrical devices that we all use every day.

"While they're not inherently dangerous, they're a battery that store a lot of energy in a small space, so they can pose a fire risk if they are damaged, defective or become over-heated.

"We really encourage people to buy chargers, batteries and devices from reputable suppliers and to make sure you don't leave devices charging overnight, or unattended, and follow manufacturer instructions."

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