Margaret Mullane, Labour PPC for Dagenham and Rainham, has received a concerning briefing from the London Fire Brigade (LFB) about the capital’s fastest-growing fire trend. During 2023 on average every two days there was a fire in e-bikes and e-scooters.
Last year LFB attended 155 e-bike fires along with 28 blazes involving e-scooters. There was a 78% increase in e-bike fires from 2022, which was also a record-breaking year. Sadly, there were also 3 deaths and around 60 injuries caused by such fires. Many of these fires are being caused by incompatible chargers, or faulty or counterfeit products which are purchased from online marketplaces.
Whilst e-bikes and e-scooters can provide cheaper, sustainable transport for Londoners, their lithium batteries present unique fire safety challenges. If the batteries become damaged or begin to fail, within seconds they can start incredibly ferocious fires that can spread quickly out of control. This presents a risk to people in the vicinity as well as attending firefighters. When these batteries are charged in communal areas or escape routes, a fire breaking out can quickly block people’s ability to escape.
Margaret said “There is need for better regulation of e-bikes and e-scooters. LFB believes that product innovation has come ahead of proper safety standards. Currently, there is inadequate regulation for e-bikes, e-scooters, conversion kits and accessories sold online, so it is not possible to be confident that products are safe.
From LFB’s investigations they know many of the lithium battery fires LFB have attended have been caused by faulty, counterfeit, mis-matched or unsafe products bought from online marketplaces, including e-bikes, chargers, and batteries, or have involved second-hand e-bikes and e-scooters”
Margaret added “LFB has launched #ChargeSafe campaign to raise awareness and prevent e-bikes and e-scooters fires, providing simple safety tips to reduce the risk to the public and firefighters. I would urge anyone who has or is thinking of getting an e-bike or e-scooter to check this out.”
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