Overview

• The NFPA’s 2025 campaign, “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home,” runs Oct. 5–11 with a nationwide focus on preventing battery-related fires.
• Fire agencies launched school visits, open houses and demonstrations across the U.S., including Milwaukee’s kickoff with students, nightly open houses in Champaign, outreach in California’s Central Coast and Fargo classrooms, and a live fire demo Tuesday by North Carolina’s Office of State Fire Marshal.
• Buying guidance centers on choosing products with safety listings such as UL, ETL or CSA and avoiding uncertified or modified devices that can raise fire risk.
• Charging advice stresses using manufacturer-approved cords, placing devices on hard non-combustible surfaces, unplugging when fully charged and stopping use if a battery is swollen, hot, punctured or making unusual noises.
• Disposal messages urge never putting lithium-ion batteries in household trash or curbside recycling, directing residents to Call2Recycle and retailer drop-offs as officials cite two recent Durham garbage-truck fires and federal data showing hundreds of battery-related incidents.