An electric scooter reportedly caused a fire that left one person suffering severe burns on Sunday in San Francisco.

The crash occurred around 12:06 p.m. on the fourth floor of a building located in the 2200 block of Polk Street. Lightweight Electric Wheelchair

Firefighters managed to contain the fire 30 minutes after it started, according to authorities.

One resident was rescued and taken to a burn center due to the serious injuries he sustained.

Firefighters determined that the fire was caused by a lithium battery from a scooter.

“Right now in San Francisco we have had 4 fires this year due to these batteries,” said Mariano Elías, a lieutenant with the San Francisco fire department.

Last year there were 16 fires, one of them fatal, caused by these batteries or the rechargeable ones.

"What is being seen is that people are using chargers that are not made for the device they have, also people are putting them near something hot that is increasing the temperature of the battery," said Elías.

Lithium batteries are in almost all devices, we can find them in our cell phones, computers, electric cars, and although they only explode in abnormal conditions, they are more likely to do so than other types of batteries.

“The smoke is much more toxic than the smoke from a house fire, metals and everything that is made of the battery is very toxic.If you see that there is smoke or a color changes or there is a smell from the battery, we recommend leaving the house, not coming close and calling 911”, assured Elías.

Wheelchair Electric Other recommendations include using only the battery and charger that came with your device, unplugging your device once it is fully charged, and not storing batteries in hot vehicles or in direct sunlight.