Southeast DC family loses home after lithium-ion battery sparks fire

WASHINGTON - A fire sparked by a lithium-ion battery left a family of four without a home in Southeast D.C., Fire and EMS say. 

According to D.C. Fire and EMS, the residents were inside of their home on 16th Street, SE, when their smoke alarms started going off. 

When the family went to investigate the cause of the smoke, they saw e-bike batteries sitting on top of a refrigerator sparking. 

When firefighters arrived, smoke was showing from the two-story home at the end of a block of row houses. 

Crews were able to put the fire out and no injuries were reported. HAZMAT and fire investigators were called in due to the lithium-ion battery being the source of the fire. 

Two adults and two children were displaced. The Red Cross is assisting.