Leander family seeks help after battery ignites, catches home on fire

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — A dad and his two sons are seeking help in all forms after a battery ignited inside their Leander home over the weekend. The family is now left without a home because of a fire, and two of their four cats didn’t make it out alive.

Around 12:04 p.m. Friday, the Leander Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at 1814 Southcreek Drive, according to the city.

Shaun Noll said his kids were home while he was working. He told KXAN they ran over to a neighbor’s home when the fire started. That neighbor tried to stop it from spreading, but had no luck.

“I was watching all this unfold on my ring camera,” Noll said. “I can’t believe all this happened in less than 30 minutes.”

The Leander Fire Department said the fire started when a lithium-ion battery overheated. Noll said that battery was for their cordless vacuum.

Noll’s kids were in the home and able to escape with no injuries. However, there were four cats inside. Two died, one escaped and the other was rescued by firefighters, the city said.

A GoFundMe page was started by Noll’s sister.

The first fire crew arrived at the home around 12:09 p.m., where there were reports of “moderate smoke” was coming from the front door. Once firefighters opened the front door, “flames began rolling out over their heads,” the city said.

Ring doorbell camera footage showed the fire rolling out as firefighters got the door open.

Then, firefighters sprayed water into the living room and in the back of the house, which is where they “extinguished the fire.” After that, firefighters began to search the home for victims, and that’s when they “rescued one of the family cats,” according to the city.

Crews were able to fully extinguish the fire around 12:20 p.m. Investigators “determined an overheated lithium ion battery” is what caused the fire, the city said.

The National Fire Protection Association said lithium-ion batteries, used for a variety of devices and systems, catch fire more easily if they’re damaged or improperly used, charged or stored. It has a list of recommendations to prevent batteries from overheating.

“We may have lost everything, but it’s nothing that can’t be replaced or be rebuilt,” Noll said.

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