ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Fire officials say nobody was seriously hurt after a fire broke out at a building on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology over the weekend.

Officials say the cause of the fire at the RIT dormitory is something of a new trend and the same problem that is already responsible for several fatal fires in New York City.

Several fire departments tackled the fire and hazardous materials incident on the eighth floor of Nathaniel Rochester Hall on Sunday.

Henrietta Fire District Assistant Fire Chief Mike Dinsmore says it was a lithium-ion battery fire.

“So these lithium-ion batteries, we're starting to see more instances of fires with them and with thermal runaway where they overheat and they explode,” Dinsmore said. “[They can be] very dangerous for occupants.”

Dinsmore says lithium-ion batteries can be a volatile fire hazard for many reasons including when they are overcharged or overheated.

It took fire crews about a half hour to bring the fire under control.

“That was not an overcharge,” Dinsmore said. “It was actually some maintenance that was being done to a battery when it let go.”

E-Bike, e-scooter and other e-mobility devices are often powered by lithium-ion batteries along with some automobiles, home tools, laptops, and cell phones.

Officials say the RIT incident involved an e-bike type scooter.

The Fire Safety Research Institute released a video to show what could happen with an overcharged e-scooter.

“There's a thermal camera, you'll see the batteries suddenly off gas and then the whole room just explodes,” Dinsmore said. “If you take note, the windows actually in that room and in the adjacent rooms are actually - it's so violent that it actually pushes the entire window and frame network out.”

The FDNY Foundation offers safety tips for devices with lithium-ion batteries including:

• Purchase devices that have a UL mark showing it’s been safety tested
• Follow the manufacturer’s advice for charging and storage
• Keep batteries/devices at room temperature, away from direct sunlight and anything flammable
• Do not charge a device under a pillow, on a bed or a couch
• Always use the manufacturer’s cord and power adaptor made specifically for that device

“It's different amperages, there are different powers that they'll allow through and then they're not made to the specifications of the equipment that you're using,” Dinsmore said. “So buy manufacturer’s equipment only, I would recommend.”

An RIT spokesperson tells Spectrum News 1 the incident is being investigated by RIT Public Safety.