Four Stages of Battery Failure

The four stages of battery failure are:

1. Abuse (either thermal, electrical, or mechanical)
2. Off-gassing (vapor released through built-in vents)
3. Smoke generation (a sign of thermal runaway)
4. Fire ignition (leading to propagation)

Stages 1 and 2 are the ideal times to act. If Stage 3 is reached, failure is imminent and your efforts should shift to operational safety and containment.

Green indicates the de-escalation stage, where you can still take action to mitigate the event. Red indicates that the situation has escalated and a containment strategy is required.