thermal

But when lithium batteries are corrupted, they can experience thermal runaway – meaning a cell undergoes uncontrollable temperature rises, making a fire hard to control and extinguish.

The statement added that traps had been set in the area, and police were on-site "utilizing thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to locate the animals".

In 2019, Richard Fitton of the University of Salford and colleagues published a paper in which they investigated the efficacy of six thermal paints available on the UK market at the time.

First, the researchers coated boards with the paints, which allowed them to measure the coatings’ thermal resistance, or insulating values.

Fires can be caused by overcharging, overheating, physical damage or product defects, which trigger a process known as thermal runaway — where excessive heat inside a battery creates a self-sustaining chemical reaction that can then easily spread to adjacent batteries.