Family flee as battery fire engulfs home
The Forrestfield home caught fire at around 3.30am, with the family narrowly escaping with their one-year-old and two dogs.
A 38-year-old man was hospitalised, reportedly with breathing issues.
Emergency responders from the WA Department of Fire & Emergency Services brought the blaze under control, however the home was completely destroyed.
Footage from the fire shows the home was completely torched, with windows shattered and the floor littered with debris.
Investigator Darryl Kramer told 9News the house was '100 percent damaged'.
He went on to raise the alarm about lithium-ion batteries, which are suspected to have caused the fire.
It is the 107th house fire caused by the batteries in Western Australia this year alone.
'These are only the ones we know about, that we are being called to,' Mr Kramer said.
'It is a forever increasing risk to the community.'
In WA, exploding batteries caused an average of three house fires a week, and have become the fastest growing house fire risk.
There were 166 total house fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in WA last year.
The shocking spike in incidents has sparked warnings from Consumer Protection WA to only buy regulated products from reputable suppliers, and to be cautious buying from marketplaces or second-hand.
These batteries are commonly found in laptops and phones, as well as e-bikes, e-scooters and power tools.
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