After e-scooter causes Penn Twp. fire, chief issues warning: 'Get it out of your house'
Six people were displaced after a basement fire in Penn Township that was started by an electric scooter, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the scene of a reported house fire in the first block of Mt. Royal Avenue in Penn Township around 11:41 a.m. on Friday, April 19, according to York County 911 records.
No one was injured in the fire, said Hanover Area Fire & Rescue Chief Tony Clousher, but six people were displaced, including four adults and two teenagers.
Hanover EMA and the Red Cross are assisting the six individuals who were displaced, Clousher said. The home suffered extensive smoke damage, along with some fire damage in the basement and first floor, he added.
The resident of the home was alerted by smoke detectors and evacuated other individuals from the home, Clousher said.
When the occupant investigated the smoke condition further, they opened the basement door to find heavy black smoke along with popping noises. They then shut the door, containing the fire, and called 911.
Firefighters arrived and stretched hoselines into the home, quickly controlling the fire in the basement in under 20 minutes, Clousher said. Some fire extended up into the ceiling of the basement, burning through numerous electrical cables and causing some damage on the first floor.
Officials determined the fire started from an electric scooter, Clousher said.
The electric scooter had been left untouched in the basement for eight months when it burst into flames, according to Clousher.
A key issue with these electric scooters and devices, which contain lithium batteries, is not knowing where they were manufactured, Clousher said.
In the United States, Clousher explained, regulations control quality assurance of lithium battery products, but often these devices are purchased from overseas manufacturers, where quality assurance standards are often not the same.
"If it's broken or you're not using it, get it out of your house," Clousher recommended to anyone who owns similar lithium battery products such as e-bikes, hoverboards and electric scooters, citing the risk of the batteries degrading and catching fire.
Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for The Evening Sun. Contact him at hjones@gannett.com.