NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION
Date: 10/7/2018
Time: 5:25 p.m.
Location / Address: 3870 Yellowstone Court, Hampstead, Carroll County
Type of Incident: Dwelling Fire
Description of Structure / Property: Tri-level, single family dwelling
Owner / Occupants: Owner(s) - Timothy & Leslie Harford Occupant(s) - Gary & Reba Floto & Robert Floto (Son)
Injuries or Deaths: None reported
Estimated $ Loss: Structure: $175,000.00 Contents: $50,000.00
Smoke Alarm Status: Present and operated
Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status: Not present
Arrests(s): N/A
Primary Responding Fire Department: Hampstead Volunteer Fire Company - assisted by numerous surrounding departments
# of Alarms: 2 # Of Firefighters: 60
Time to Control: 50 minutes
Discovered By: Occupant (Robert Floto)
Area of Origin: 1st floor rear bedroom
Preliminary Cause: Accidental - due to lithium-ion battery explosion
Additional Information: The occupant (Robert Floto -age 25) was building a do-it-yourself (DIY) electric bicycle (E-bike) using multiple lithium-ion batteries. During the course of loading the batteries into the battery pack, (2) of the lithium battery terminals touched, creating an explosion which lead to the other batteries to explode and ignite nearby combustibles. Robert Floto was able to push the bike out the rear door to the exterior. Floto and his father attempted to extinguish the fire with multiple fire extinguishers; however the fire quickly spread throughout the room and into the house. Investigators consider the home a total loss. Red Cross is assisting.
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