WAREHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - It started with just a simple puff of smoke.

Then moments later, the fire spread, fast.

A fire on Sunday in Onset caused major damage to a hobby shop.

The town's fire chief says the cause was lithium-ion batteries.

"Last year there was 135 reported fires," said Onset Fire Chief Jeffrey Osswald. "How many of those were not reported? You know that's the biggest concern. And I think people just take it for granted and they're not as cautious as they should be with them."

Osswald explained what makes this technology such a challenge for firefighters.

"Just the battery itself," said Osswald. "Water is not a very effective extinguishing agent. We have fires with the batteries or suspected bad battery, you have to pack them carefully."

In this case, firefighters had to put the rest of the batteries in the shop in a dumpster full of sand.

Firefighters say they'll stay there for 30 days until they're certain they've been de-energized.

Assistant Chief Howard Anderson explained how challenging this fire was.

"The firefighters going in reported zero visibility, high heat conditions and that puts a toll on them," said Anderson. "It makes our job harder, we can't get right at the scene of the fire right away to put it out."

Firefighters say this fire is an important reminder to always use, charge, and store these devices properly.

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