I agree that having a battery which can be changed without opening the laptop case might require to make the laptop much thicker. However, Apple could do a lot

I agree that having a battery which can be changed without opening the laptop case might require to make the laptop much thicker. However, Apple could do a lot to make battery service easier, so that anyone who has the correct screwdrivers can do it in 5 minutes. This would also cause more batteries to be exchanged for old age and thus further reduce the risk of fires. And, as this recall was about the MacBook pro, there is much more space for battery placement than in the smaller devices.