An electric scooter's lithium battery exploded Tuesday afternoon, setting fire to an apartment on Shimon Bar Yochai Street in Modi'in Illit, Kikar Hashabbat reported.

According to the family, when the electric scooter was put to charge, an explosion was heard and white smoke began to fill the house.

Following the explosion, the Fire and Rescue Service's Judea and Samaria office received a report of thick smoke coming from the apartment.

Firefighting teams from the Modi'in Illit fire station, who were active at the scene, reported that the source was a lithium battery which had been charging, Kikar Hashabbat added. At first, the battery had begun smoking, but the apartment's residents quickly exited the scene due to the large amount of smoke.

Lahav Lior Alkarif, operations commander of the Binyamin Regional Fire Station, said, "When we arrived at the scene of the fire, thick smoke could be seen coming out of the apartment. We entered the apartment and identified a burning lithium battery in one of the apartment's rooms."

"We began to act to extinguish the fire while scanning the area to locate anyone who might be trapped. While scanning the apartment, we found another electric scooter, with a homemade lithium battery."

"We are witness to a rise in the number of apartment fires caused by lithium batteries, and we call on the public to be stringent about safety guidelines on this issue."

The Fire and Rescue Service has emphasized that batteries should never be charged without supervision, and that all batteries must meet government standards. In addition, only the charger provided with the battery should be used to charge it.

Batteries should never be charged near an exit door or hallway, the Fire and Rescue Service emphasized. They also urged the installation of smoke detectors.