Boston, Massachusetts Announces Cause of Dorchester Fire That Killed Firefighter: Overheated Lithium-Ion Batteries
Boston city officials announced on November 4 that the fire that killed Rescue Company 2 firefighter Robert T. Kilduff Jr. in Dorchester on May 23 was caused by lithium-ion batteries that overheated while stored in plastic toolboxes on an enclosed porch at 18 Treadway Road. Kilduff, 53, was critically injured after falling from a third-story window while responding to the fire and later died.
Officials said the blaze began in the enclosed porch at the back of the home, where the overheated batteries ignited the fire. The Boston Fire Department has seen an increase in lithium-ion battery fires in recent years, and residents often keep as many as a dozen such batteries at home; the department urges safe storage and charging and warns against keeping batteries in enclosed, hot spaces.
Two investigations, by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and a Boston Fire Department Board of Inquiry, are still ongoing, and their findings will be shared with the public when complete. Kilduff's death drew citywide attention to firefighter safety and battery fire risks, and the city's announcement answers long-standing questions from his family and the public.
(Source: City of Boston)
Source: City of Boston
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Photo: 图：波士顿市政厅（GSM 固定图库）。 / Photo: Boston City Hall (GSM image library).
