AzYooper Loc: Sun Lakes AZ (Almost Phoenix)

If you look carefully around your town and the interstates and major highways, I think you will see more charred ICE vehicles burned out, than EV Vehicles. No statistics, but just my personal observation. I see a lot of burned cars but never saw a burned EV. Of course, we just got our EV Mustang Mach-E a week ago, so obviously, not too concerned.

Capn_Dave

You didn't mention the main problem. When Lithium Ion batteries do catch fire you cannot put the fire out. Internal combustion engine fires are easily extinguished. My DJI drone came with a fireproof case to put the batteries in while charging. It hasn't been needed so far

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Not according to an article by Nikon, so maybe they forgot to communicate it well to the whole world. I had three batteries on Nikon's list that I exchanged.

In 2005, Nikon reported 4 incidents with the EL3's worldwide, of some short-circuiting and offered free replacement on certain lots.

The EL15's were recalled due to "burn hazard" possibility with short-circuiting.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

One of the leading causes of fires in New York City is from the charging of sub-standard e-bike and scooter batteries.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/ebike-laws-nyc.html?searchResultPosition=2

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

That's interesting. The EN-EL15 battery from the beginning has completely redesigned terminals which are recessed and completely unexposed. Accessing them to produce a short circuit would require a major effort. And it's hard to believe that they would have even been introduced without the load-limiting circuitry that was added to the EN-EL3e update. The EL-3 and 3e terminals are just large flat plates which are easy to short out. I currently have cameras that use both of these battery types and am well aware of the designs of each.

Tdearing Loc: Rockport, TX

Don't know about camera batteries, but I did have a laptop battery burn up so its perhaps not a stretch to say it could well happen to a camera battery. The lithium iron oxide batteries are supposed to be much more stable and seem a better future option.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Only the poorly manufactured, cheap camera batteries that have the thermal safeguards disabled or non-existent would be at risk of fire or explosion during charging or heavy use. Just be aware of third party batteries you might find on sites like Amazon or Aliexpress - if you buy batteries from the manufacturer of the camera then the risk is practically zero, since it would have thermal cutoffs in place in case the battery gets too hot, which causes the "thermal runaway" leading to bad things. If you short or puncture the battery, the thermal cutoffs don't apply in that case and that will lead to fire or explosion. This is also why Lithium batteries are not permitted on checked baggage as the cargo hold is not pressurized (usually) and the low pressure will cause the batteries to burst and internally short, leading to fire. There have been cases of laptop and MacBook fires in the past but those issues are addressed with newer thermal cutoffs when used normally and not abused (shorts or punctures). As for the Tesla fires you see on many YT clips, that is something else related to poor safety designs of the Tesla's, in all likelihood. Those batteries are under high drain and will get very warm/hot, leading to the thermal runaway. As long as you use manufacturer recommended batteries in cameras, there is nothing to worry about.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

This information is from Nikon, so whatever works for you. There have been subsequent service advisories. Perhaps you could clarify the technical aspects for their engineering department.

leftj Loc: Texas

I never have and don't know anyone who has. Urban myth.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

In 2008, I bought a third party, high-capacity, LiIon battery for a Canon GL-2 SD video camera I used at work. It was the largest battery available for that camera, and therefore, it was heavy. It was also cheaply made!

I had used the battery several times with no issues. A few months after I got it, I was recording some 'B roll' of our photo lab's exterior. The plastic mounting plate on the battery that held it to the camera body split while the camera was on a tripod, outdoors, in a parking lot well away from our building. The part containing the fully charged cells fell to the ground. The uninsulated metal strips serving as leads shorted out, the battery caught fire, and it burned furiously for quite a while.

Since it fell on a concrete gutter next to the asphalt, I just let it burn. It was in a "relatively safe" place. I realized immediately how lucky we were that the thing hadn't shorted out on the camera, or worse, inside, in my studio!

LiIon batteries are fine if constructed properly. I've had dozens of them over the years, and that one was the only bad one.

chemsaf Loc: San Diego

I had a GoPro battery irreversinly swell and become hot to touch. No fire. I investigated an external battery fire. It was powering a timelapse shoot. And I include myself in the "We" as I follow this issue as a chemical safety professional.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Look at this video on YouTube where a guy's brand new $6000 e-bike overheats and catches fire during his first ride! There are DOZENS of videos and hundreds of reports of similar and worse incidents.

https://youtu.be/wxr1iXEf9lY?si=z-U7eJyd-9GugBR8

The problem is poor thermal monitoring and management, combined with poor construction.

The challenge is to find products that are properly engineered, properly built, properly tested, and rated "approved" by Underwriters' Labs or CSA or some other safety authority.

There is a LOT of cheap crap on the market.

Of course, ANY high energy source can catch fire and explode if built improperly or used improperly, or hit with enough force. Choose carefully!

jiminnee

Read a report that said one of the very popular higher-priced cars in China is the one that has the most problems...and apparently there are a LOT of them.

cyclespeed Loc: Calgary, Alberta Canada

This is why Apple and I'm guessing others as well ship their battery included devices like iPads, iPhones and even watches with zero charge.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

News in NYC, another yesterday, destroyed an apartment with exploding in the middle of the night, bigger than a camera batt but still lithium, BTW a while back I saw a lithium batt video where they opened a AA and got water in it, Big Bang, mighty have been on you tube, not something to play with.