FAA: Battery fires happening nearly twice a week on US flights

New numbers from the Federal Aviation Administration show that lithium battery fires occur nearly twice a week on U.S. Flights.

Laptops, smart watches, cell phones and other items you might not think of containing lithium batteries are the culprits.

• RELATED: Preventing fires from lithium-ion batteries

Passengers should monitor their electronic devices during flights. If a device feels hot, changes color, or starts to bulge, crew members should be notified immediately.

Lithium batteries can catch fire even in something as simple as an electric toothbrush.

The FAA reports that lithium fires on planes have increased nearly 400% since 2015.

The latest incident occurred on an American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Miami when a laptop battery caught fire.

Gerald Lamarsh is a traveler. He said that the owner of the item should be responsible for the fires.

“The statistics are truly frightening, and they are not going to get better,” said Lamarsh. “They’re going to get worse. The burden is between the owner and the manufacturer.”

Mike Nielsen is also a traveler. He said that travelers should keep their items near them in case of a fire.

“If they’re having battery fires within the plane itself, maybe the computers or whatever you have the lithium batteries in should be by your feet or directly with you and not stored up above, because then you wouldn’t know there was a fire until the smoke started coming out between the doors,” said Nielsen.

Travelers should also keep lithium batteries out of checked bags since fires in the cargo hold are much harder to put out, and it’s not just checked luggage. Carry-on devices can pose a risk too.