WA family narrowly escape house fire sparked by lithium-ion battery

A home south-east of Perth turned into a furnace, swallowed by flames in minutes.

It happened in Forrestfield at about 3.30am today, while a couple, their 12-month-old baby and two dogs all slept inside.

The family escaped the blaze with only seconds to spare as neighbours raced to help.

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A 38-year-old man was taken to hospital, struggling to breathe.

The house was beyond saving and it's believed a lithium-ion battery on a power tool is to blame.

"The house is 100 per cent damaged, so its inhabitable," investigator Darryl Krammer said.

This is the 107th house fire caused by lithium-ion batteries so far this year.

It's a growing concern, with four of them happening across the state in the past 48 hours.

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"These are only the ones we know about, that we are being called to," Krammer said, suggesting there could be more.

"It is a forever increasing risk to the community."

Lithium-ion powers devices like portable chargers, electric vehicles, mobile phones, digital cameras, even vacuum cleaners.

The advice is to charge the items like power tools outside your home and install a smoke alarm in your garage.

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