EIR 1659 / November 2023 / Lithium - Ion Batteries

Thank you for your request under the Environmental Information Regulations.

We can confirm that Essex County Fire & Rescue Service does hold the information you have requested.

Please see below the answer to your request.

Questions and final response:

Question 1 -We would like to investigate whether there has been an increase in fires caused by items that contain lithium-ion batteries, particularly items that children or young people have access to, such as toys, phones and laptops etc.

Therefore, under Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations, I would like to request the following information: -

The number of household fires caused (or thought to be caused) by lithium-ion batteries in toys, toothbrushes, phones and laptops from 01.01.2021 to 31.12.2021 -

The number of household fires caused (or thought to be caused) by lithium-ion batteries in toys, toothbrushes, phones and laptops from 01.01.2022 to 31.12.2022 -

The number of household fires caused (or thought to be caused) by lithium-ion batteries in toys, toothbrushes, phones and laptops from 01.01.2023 to 30.10.2023 -

The number of fires in dustcarts and waste-processing centres fires caused (or thought to be caused) by lithium-ion batteries in toys, toothbrushes, phones and laptops from 01.01.2021 to 31.12.2021 -

The number of fires in dustcarts and waste-processing centres fires caused (or thought to be caused) by lithium-ion batteries in toys, toothbrushes, phones and laptops from 01.01.2022 to 31.12.2022

The number of fires in dustcarts and waste-processing centres fires caused (or thought to be caused) by lithium-ion batteries in toys, toothbrushes, phones and laptops from 01.01.2023 to 30.10.2023

If possible, please can you detail what has caused the fire, or what is thought to have caused the fire so we can identify the source of the fire.

I would like you to provide this information in an excel document and have the data broken down by month per year so we can see if there are any spikes on particular months over the years.

For instance, if there are any spikes in November, December, or January when people may be clearing out homes in or around the Christmas period.

Please see attached spreadsheet containing the requested information.

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Incident and other data is published on our transparency site. Incident Data (essexfire.gov.uk) .

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this request will be published on our website http://transparency.essex-fire.gov.uk/.

All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

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Thank you for your interest in Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, we hope this satisfies your request.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to apply for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of your original email and should be sent to informationgovernance@essex-fire.gov.uk or sent to our postal address: Internal Review, System & Data Information Governance Team, Kelvedon Park, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex CM8 3HB.

Please ensure you quote the above reference number in all future communication