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Video shows moment dog starts house fire after chewing on lithium-ion battery
Video shows the moment a dog accidentally started a house fire in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by chewing on a lithium-ion battery that sparked the blaze.
The footage, recently released by the Tulsa Fire Department, showed how the fire began after a dog bit through the housing of a portable lithium-ion battery power bank intended to charge cellphones. In the clip, the pet was seen biting on the battery while another dog and a cat rested nearby, until sparks begin to fly out of the battery. The fire continued to grow as the confused pets appeared to panic. Officials said the animals were able to leave the home unharmed.
“While the home was significantly damaged, their two dogs and cat escaped the home uninjured through a dog door,” Tulsa fire authorities said.
Tulsa Fire Department
The Tulsa Fire Department shared video of the May incident and information to warn people about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries, which are known for storing a significant amount of energy in a compact space, sometimes causing deadly fires.
“When this energy is released uncontrollably, it can generate heat, produce flammable and toxic gases and even lead to explosions,” the department’s spokesperson Andy Little said. “These incidents can occur due to various reasons, such as exposure to extreme heat, physical damage to the battery, overcharging or even using incompatible charging equipment.”
Little said the “outcome could have been much worse” if there was no way for the pets to escape or if a family was sleeping.
“It is crucial that you adhere to manufacturer guidelines when using lithium-ion batteries, only using approved chargers and storing them out of reach of children and pets,” Little said, adding that the batteries should also be disposed of properly and should not be tossed in household garbage or recycling bins.
Local veterinarian Dr. Troy McNamara told CBS affiliate KOTV that pets chewing on or swallowing batteries could lead to several dangers besides fires. Battery acid is toxic, and biting on the batteries could cause physical harm, McNamara said, and if a pet swallows a battery and it gets obstructed, it could get stuck in their stomach or intestines.
McNamara said to go to the veterinarian immediately if your pet exhibits signs of battery poisoning, which includes vomiting, diarrhea and trouble breathing.
At least 11 employees were taken to hospitals and residents were urged to shelter in place on Tuesday after an explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, business.
The Louisville Metro Emergency Services reported on social media a “hazardous materials incident” at 1901 Payne St., in Louisville. The address belongs to a facility operated by Givaudan Sense Colour, a manufacturer of food colorings for soft drinks and other products, according to officials and online records.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said emergency teams responded to the blast around 3 p.m. News outlets reported that neighbors heard what sounded like an explosion coming from the business. Overhead news video footage showed an industrial building with a large hole in its roof.
WLKY-TV
“The cause at this point of the explosion is unknown,” Greenberg said in a news conference. No one died in the explosion, he added.
Greenberg said officials spoke to employees inside the plant. “They have initially conveyed that everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred,” he said.
The Louisville Fire Department said in a post on the social platform X that multiple agencies were responding to a “large-scale incident.”
The Louisville Metro Emergency Services first urged people within a mile of the business to shelter in place, but that order was lifted in the afternoon. An evacuation order for the two surrounding blocks around the site of the explosion was still in place Tuesday afternoon.
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A rare square 37-carat emerald owned by the Aga Khan fetched nearly $9 million at auction in Geneva on Tuesday, making it the world’s most expensive green stone.
Sold by Christie’s, the Cartier diamond and emerald brooch, which can also be worn as a pendant, dethrones a piece of jewelry made by the fashion house Bulgari, which Richard Burton gave as a wedding gift to fellow actor Elizabeth Taylor, as the most precious emerald.
In 1960, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan commissioned Cartier to set the emerald in a brooch with 20 marquise-cut diamonds for British socialite Nina Dyer, to whom he was briefly married.
Dyer then auctioned off the emerald to raise money for animals in 1969.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
By chance that was Christie’s very first such sale in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva, with the emerald finding its way back to the 110th edition this year.
It was bought by jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels before passing a few years later into the hands of Harry Winston, nicknamed the “King of Diamonds.”
“Emeralds are hot right now, and this one ticks all the boxes,” said Christie’s EMEA Head of Jewellery Max Fawcett. “…We might see an emerald of this quality come up for sale once every five or six years.”
Also set with diamonds, the previous record-holder fetched $6.5 million at an auction of part of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned jewelry collection in New York.
