TROUTDALE, Ore. — Six people were able to escape an Oregon residence on Thursday after an e-bike’s lithium battery exploded in the house. One cat died after the blast rocked the home in Troutdale, KGW reported.
Witnesses and security cameras confirmed that the battery was unplugged on top of a padded chair when it began smoking, popping and emitting an odor, according to the television station. It exploded moments later, setting the two-story, wood-frame house on fire.
Preston Williams, 15, told KOIN he was inside the house and smelled something strange.
“It smelled like something was like dying and rotting, but like, there wasn’t, like, a direct area,” Preston said. “It popped the first time, and then I didn’t know if I should grab the battery and … see what would happen.
“And so I decided just to film it and see what happened. That’s when like, everything started popping. It was like a bomb.”
Kelli Gasaway, who lived in the upstairs portion of the house, compared the explosion to the sound of a hand grenade going off.
“I ran back up for a quick second before it spread too much, and I grabbed our wallets, our phone and our keys,” she told the television station. “It was like by the time I got out, there was already smoke completely engulfed in our apartment …before the flames were all the way through upstairs.
“I just sat in the rocks and watched it (burn down), you know, like racing heart, no anxiety. Just it was very eerie.”
Gasaway credited Kari Ann Peniche, Williams’ mother, for alerting her to the blaze, KGW reported.
“You have flames coming out of your kitchen windows and you’re still making sure that your upstairs neighbors are safe,” Gasaway said. “That’s a big deal.”
The cat did perish in the fire, but the six people in the house were able to escape. Gasaway said she and her partner lost all of their possessions.
“I’m super grateful,” Williams told KGW. “It could have went way worse.”
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