Lithium-ion Batteries Pose Hazards for Self Storage Facilities
The 1 a.m. fire at KeepSafe Storage in Hurricane, Utah, on January 28, 2026, burned five units. The culprit: a cellphone backup charging case powered by a lithium-ion battery (LiB).
“The case was not plugged in, it was not being used, it was just being stored,” Greg Ellsworth, president of Self Storage Consulting Group and owner of KeepSafe Storage, told SSA Magazine for an article in the June 2026 issue.
“It’s not just a matter of the battery being charged or the battery being used,” said Ellsworth. “They’re just a liability in and of themselves through their inherent chemistry.”
With the help of attorney Jeffrey Greenberger, principal with Greenberger & Brewer, LLP, in Cincinnati, Ohio, KeepSafe Storage had revised its lease agreement four years ago to specifically ban storage of anything containing an LiB.
Greenberger said he’s been tracking about 25 self storage facility fires on average a year where LiBs were implicated or suspected. He spoke about LiB risks in his presentation at the SSA Spring Conference in San Antonio this March.
“These things don’t just catch fire, they explode,” he said. “The whole thing goes at once.”
Awareness is the first step toward preventing infernos, Greenberger explained. “When operators rent to a contractor and give them electrical outlets, they need to know how those outlets will be used. Rental agreements need language addressing, or even banning, the charging and maybe storage of batteries. It’s up to the operator to decide how strict to be.”
Unfortunately, he said, tenants don’t always pay attention to or think about everything they’re storing. “They slip an old laptop into a bag and forget about it,” he said.
Greenberger believes no facility should allow customers 24/7 access to an electrical outlet. After all, he noted, a self storage facility is different from small office suites or flex space. Without outlets in their storage unit, people can’t recharge their LiB devices — thus eliminating one source of fire risk.
“No solution is perfect. But take appropriate precautions so you can show a fire marshal and your insurance company that you’re doing everything you can to prevent this hazard,” Greenberger advised. “You must be much more attentive to batteries being stored and how you’ve addressed that in your rental agreement.”
The insurance industry is taking note of the risk, said Jessica Lamoureux, AAI, CISR, principal and self storage practice leader at World Insurance Associates LLC, in West Hartford, Connecticut.
“There is growing concern in the insurance industry about the variety of battery-powered items tenants may place in units — especially e-bikes, scooters, tools, power packs. There is also the concern about storage of damaged or improperly charged batteries,” she said.
Lamoureux noted that self storage insurers require a lease agreement that prohibits the storage of hazardous materials.
“While they have not explicitly stated that lithium-ion batteries are prohibited, it is recommended that lease agreements are updated and signs posted throughout the facility prohibiting storage of these batteries,” she said.
Learn the safety risks LiBs pose for self storage, and see safety tips from the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. Fire Administration, City of New York Fire Department, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and more in SSA Magazine’s June 2026 issue (page 10: Burning Issue).