BATON ROUGE — After an R.V. in St. John Parish was destroyed in a fire, killing an elderly man inside, fire responders urge people to pay closer attention to their electronics.

Lithium batteries are in all kinds of electronics, bikes, scooters, and phones, to name a few products. Experts say preventing a fire could be as easy as looking for a specific tag.

Chris Carson runs E-Bike Baton Rouge, selling electronic bikes and scooters, all of which use lithium batteries, a kind of rechargeable battery.

After a 67-year-old man died in an R.V. fire Tuesday, which the state Fire Marshall's office says may have been caused by a lithium battery, they say leaving electronics on chargers unattended can have dangerous consequences, releasing a toxic gas. Airlines restrict where they can be stored on planes.

"If it's not being charged, minimal risk. The risk comes when you charge them and leave them on a flammable surface," Billy Zachry with the Baton Rouge Fire Department said.

To clarify, Zachary says the best practice is to watch electronics on chargers. Rechargeable battery products with certification from Underwriters Laboratories or U.L. meet a national standard for safety.

They're designed to shut off to avoid igniting flames.

Carson says he makes sure everything in his shop is certified, and besides the certification, there are other ways to tell if the product you purchased is quality, like the price.

Cheaper products, Carson said, tend to have fewer certifications and protections.

"If you see an e-bike that's under five or six hundred dollars, there's almost no way they went through the cost process to safety check the bike," Carson said.

Zachary also reminds residents to ensure their smoke detector works, especially during the cold months.