I have heard of cell phone and laptop battery fires but their battery are not as large of capacity nor the amps of our hobby batteries so generally there is less damage from their fires.

True; I think this makes a difference.

I believe that Lithium Ion batteries, commonly used in cell phones are not the same as Lithium Polymer batteries that we use in our hobby. They are two different battery types and their chemistry is not entirely the same. Lithium Ion does have a greater energy density than Lithium Polymer, but doesn't pose an equal risk of fire as the latter.

This is my understanding, but I'm not an expert in the field, so there may be other issues I may be overlooking

You may be right but, I have heard of quite a few fires especially cell phones.

these things scare me............i'm sticking with nitro.....BRO

One more spontanyou lipo fire..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF9fhlr9S5s

Lesson learned: if a customer bring in a defective battery and/or drone, put the battery in a fireproof container, in case it was damaged.

I am glad no one was hurt, and that there were people in the building when it happened. If not, the building may have burned down.