'There's nothing left': Horror as e-bike battery fire guts family home, as fire brigade call outs soar

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By Alex Taylor

Safety experts have warned that ‘substandard’ lithium ion batteries, used in e-bikes and e-scooters, could be leading to a rise in fires in people’s homes, as a family warned that a blaze had left them homeless.

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Charity Electrical Safety First is calling for the batteries to be held to the same testing standards as laptops or electric vehicles, with better regulations and batter testing.

Figures seen by LBC show a 58% rise in fire service call outs involving lithium-ion batteries in a year. Across the country, there were 388 call outs in 2023, compared with 246 in 2022, according to data obtained from 36 fire services in the UK.

According to the information , 8 people were killed across both years with a further 181 injured.

“The same technology is in all of these other products (laptops and EVs) but we’re not seeing the same problems.” Says Giuseppe Capana, a Product Safety Engineer at the charity. “The manufacturers are not following the rules they need to follow.” He adds. “At the moment, some of these manufacturers, much smaller players, only have to self-declare that they’ve been tested.

“We want mandatory third party testing for anyone selling an e-bike or e-scooter battery or retrofitting kit.”

The charity also states that while many of these “substandard items” are coming from the Far East, it’s “not uncommon to see them coming from within the UK.”

The dangers of fires caused by this equipment is all too real for Simon Bradshaw. In July, his home in Doncaster was gutted by a fire, which was sparked by a lithium-ion battery that had been on charge inside the property.

No one was hurt, but his foster son was alone in the house at the time. It left Simon, his partner and their five children without a home.

“The battery went on charge. My foster son fell asleep for about an hour and it went up. It was a faulty pack and that was bought online.” Says Simon.

“There’s wallpaper falling off in the house, the ceiling’s coming in. There’s nothing left. The cupboards on the wall were blown off in the explosion.

“With five kids, as you can imagine, it’s tough going, but we have managed to secure a three bedroom property.”

Steve Jones, the Senior Fire Investigation Officer for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said his team have particular concerns about “retrofitting”, where normal push bikes are converted into e-bikes.

“What we’re asking is for people to be careful on where they source and buy those conversion kits.

“Getting them from reputable, UK based dealers is probably your best bet. We believe that a rise in these call outs is less about the traditional electrical bikes, and more along the lines of bikes that have been retro-fitted.”

A new campaign to address e-bike and e-scooter safety is now underway. A number of bodies are involved, including Cycling UK and the Association of Cycle Traders.

They’re calling for a register of safety checked e-bike and component brands.

For Simon, that’s a call that he’s in agreement with.

“Just make sure you’re buying from reputable dealers. Do your research first. I didn’t and I’ve paid a big price.”