Exploding Lithium-Ion Battery Kills 2 in State’s 1st Battery Fire Death

Emergency crews discovered the 2 bodies after conducting an initial search of the house, with the blaze ultimately extinguished.

A technician unpacks a completely burned Lithium-ion car battery before its dismantling by the German recycling firm Accurec in Krefeld, Germany, November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

Two people have died in a home in Newcastle from an exploding lithium-ion battery, marking what firefighters fear are the first deaths linked to a battery fire in New South Wales (NSW).

A damaged battery entered “thermal runaway,” heating up, releasing toxic gases, and exploding into flames in a townhouse in Teralba, Newcastle, around 4:10 a.m. on Feb. 29, according to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW).