FIRE HAZARD: Double-check how you're storing batteries

Storing your batteries may seem like a simple task, but if you don't do it right, it can start a fire.

The Logan-Rogersville Assistant Fire Chief Russ Lafferty, said putting your batteries in a box or junk drawer can be dangerous.

"Anything can cause heat to build up and start a fire," he said. "Especially if you have like your junk, paper, and that kind of things that will start readily in the drawers with them, it's a hazard."

Lafferty said fire safety, like how to store your batteries, can sometimes be forgotten.

"There's been times, even in the last week in the nation, there's been fires caused just because of improper disposal of batteries," he said.

If you're on the go, Lafferty said you shouldn't just throw loose batteries in your purse.

"Nine volt batteries can actually touch one another causing a problem," he said. "It could start a fire in your backpack."

He said the best way to store your 9 volt batteries is standing up, with both terminals facing upward. For all types, he said to keep them in the container they came in.

"If you can't, even something as simple as electric tape just over the top will make them safe to be put in the storage," Lafferty said.

He said people should always make sure to properly dispose of there batteries and avoid throwing them in the trash.

"It can cause heating in the trash can and most of us have our trashcan underneath the cabinet in some place and it can start a fire in the trash," Lafferty said.

Greene county does provide a list of places that will take them off your hands.

Click

to see that list.