PHOTOS: A hazmat team responded to an electric scooter that caught fire next to a field on Monday, according to the Vancouver Fire Department.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 1618 NE 107th Avenue shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday. They found that the scooter appeared to be experiencing a thermal runaway in the battery compartment, resulting in a small fire and off-gassing from the cells.
A hazmat team equipped with protective suits were able to move the scooter into a container filled with salt-brine to help cool the thermal runaway and discharge the remaining power in the battery cells. The Vancouver Fire Department says that the smoke produced by some battery fires can be toxic and possibly flammable.
