Harris County leaders launch battery safety campaign | khou.com

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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — As the holiday shopping season approaches this year, Harris County officials are warning residents about the risks of lithium-ion batteries.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and county fire officials launched the "CHARGE" campaign at a news conference Tuesday.

They said a string of scrapyard and disposal facility fires in the county over the last year prompted concern over improper disposal of lithium-ion batteries.

"We're starting to see more and more of these fires in the county," Executive Assistant Chief Rodney Reed of the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said. "One of the commonalities that we looked at was a need to create an education campaign."

The campaign aims to educate people about the risks with the batteries, spotting compliant and non-compliant electronics, how to properly dispose of the batteries and what to do in the event of a fire involving the batteries.

"We should treat batteries as hazardous materials, be it the lithium-ion batteries or just the standard batteries that you might use in any kind of toy or small appliance," Hidalgo said. "These shouldn't be thrown away like regular trash."

Hidalgo also announced the county is updating fire codes following Hurricane Beryl, including efforts like school fire safety inspections, requiring nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have backup power sources and installing buttons at EV charging stations to stop the system in the event of a fire.

More information about the campaign can be found on the county's website here. Information on disposing of batteries properly can be found here.