New children’s book teaches battery safety as fire risk grows

Supercharged! Batty and the Battery Rescue Team launches Sept. 29 at RCon 2026 in St. Louis with a kid-focused push to teach safer battery use, charging and disposal. The book arrives as fire experts warn lithium-ion batteries are driving more fire risk in homes and waste systems.

Why it matters: - Battery use is now part of daily childhood life, from tablets and toys to phones and scooters. - Improper charging or disposal can turn lithium-ion batteries into a fire hazard in homes, communities, waste facilities and for first responders. - The book is aimed at building safe habits early, before battery mistakes become emergencies.

What happened: - Supercharged! Batty and the Battery Rescue Team launches Sept. 29 at RCon 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri. - Fire safety experts Ryan Fogelman and Dalan Zartman wrote the book, and Darci Ward illustrated it. - The project was developed with Fire Rover, the Energy Security Agency, Recycled Materials Association, National Waste & Recycling Foundation, National Waste & Recycling Association, Solid Waste Association of North America and the Environmental Research & Education Foundation.

The details: - The book teaches children how to use, charge and dispose of batteries safely. - Lessons include proper charging practices and keeping batteries and devices away from excessive heat. - The story also teaches kids to recognize warning signs of a potentially dangerous battery. - The book tells children when to stay back and tell an adult. - It warns children never to put batteries in household trash or curbside recycling. - Ryan Fogelman’s 9th Annual Waste & Recycling Facility Fires Report found 2025 was the worst year on record since he began publicly tracking incidents in 2016. - The report counted 448 waste and recycling facility fires across the U.S. and Canada in 2025. - That total topped 430 incidents in 2024 and was nearly 25% above the annual average of 360 fires.

Between the lines: - The book is trying to reach kids because lasting safety habits often start young. - Fogelman’s research points to the rising number of lithium-ion batteries in the waste stream as a growing fire risk. - The partnership across recycling, waste management, fire safety and environmental education groups signals a broader effort to treat battery safety as a public education issue, not just a facility problem. - The project’s core idea is preventative: teach before a battery becomes dangerous.

What's next: - Supercharged! Batty and the Battery Rescue Team becomes available at its Sept. 29 launch event in St. Louis. - The book is positioned for use by children, parents and teachers as a practical safety tool. - More information is available through the project’s social channels and the book’s Instagram account.

The bottom line: - Battery safety is becoming a mainstream fire-prevention issue, and this new children’s book tries to make the message stick early.