WHAT IS THE 12 DAYS OF FIRE SAFETY?
Running for about 15 years, the 12 days of holiday fire safety launches on Dec. 12 and is an annual campaign to raise public awareness about fire safety during the festive season.
The Office of the Fire Marshal will be sharing daily tips on fire prevention through its social media channels and YouTube page. It includes tips on “everything from cooking safety to holiday lights, heating equipment, decorations, everything that you need to keep you and your family safe,” said deputy fire marshal John McBeth.
In the majority of fire investigations, people don’t believe a devastating blaze can happen to them, but “it can and it will” without prevention and planning, McBeth said.
“That starts with having a home fire escape plan, knowing two ways out of every room and having a working smoke alarm in your home on every storey,” he said, adding that “November to January (is when) we see the highest number of residential fire deaths in Ontario.”
This year’s campaign will include “powerful, first-hand testimonials from fire personnel across Ontario,” sharing real stories that show “the human impact of holiday fires” and why fire prevention is “so critical at this time of the year,” officials with the fire marshal’s office said in a statement.
The London Fire Department’s participation in the program is guided by the fire marshal, the governing body for fire departments provincewide.
WHY HAS LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SAFETY BEEN ADDED?
For the second year, lithium-ion battery safety has been added to the campaign because of the growing fire risk associated with them.
There’s been a rise in lithium-ion battery-related fires provincewide in recent years, McBeth said, noting there were 53 in 2023, 141 in in 2024, and 120 so far in 2025.
The addition of lithium-ion battery safety to the holiday campaign continues the agency’s recent fire safety initiative, launched ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday last month, that urged shoppers to make fire safety part of their buying decision. Ontarians buy more lithium-ion battery-powered products in late November and December than any other time of the year.
WHAT FIRE HAZARDS ARE LINKED TO LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES?
Lithium-ion batteries are in many products, such as cellphones, tablets and laptops and mobility scooters.
The batteries are “safe when used properly,” McBeth said, but the the fire marshal’s office is seeing more fires when they’re not used, charged or disposed of correctly.
People should check lithium-ion batteries for Canadian Standards Association and Underwriters Laboratories markings that confirm devices and chargers meet safety standards, while avoiding unknown sellers whose prices “are too good to be true,” McBeth said.
It is important to charge devices on hard, flat and well-ventilated surfaces and avoid charging devices on beds or couches, especially under pillows while asleep.
Matt Hepditch is deputy fire chief with the London Fire Department. He warned consumers to follow manufacturers’ instructions. “Don’t tinker with the batteries. Don’t take one from one manufacturer, one from another manufacturer, and try to put those together; it can cause issues.”
A replacement lithium-ion battery in a hunter’s duck decoy was suspected to be the cause of a fire in St. Thomas in October 2024 that gutted a home and damaged a neighbouring house. Nobody was injured.
Hepditch said London has been “very fortunate” in avoiding any serious fires related to lithium-ion batteries but cautioned “thermal runaway” is possible if they’re overcharged, misused, or damaged.
WHAT IS THERMAL RUNAWAY?
Thermal runaway is an uncontrolled, self-sustaining chain reaction that occurs when a battery generates more heat than it can release to its surroundings, which can lead to smoke, fire or explosion.
The gasses produced are “very toxic,” Hepditch said. In the case of an explosion, heated battery parts can shoot out and ignite chairs, curtains, or clothing, causing the fire to spread quickly.
The amount of toxic smoke released into the air as a result of thermal runaway is “quite alarming,” McBeth said, adding the phenomenon makes batteries “unpredictable.”
LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SAFETY TIPS FROM ONTARIO’S FIRE MARSHAL
- Use the charger that came with the device and was designed for it.
- Use specific chargers for specific devices.
- Don’t tamper with or attempt to modify lithium-ion batteries.
- Charge products away from exit doors and stairwells in case they catch fire.
- Look for device chargers with the Canadian certification markings.
- Don’t charge cellphones when you’re sleeping.