E-bikes cause fires in London ‘every other day'
Richard Field, deputy assistant commissioner for prevention and protection at London Fire Brigade (LFB), said e-bikes and e-scooters were one of the capital's 'fastest-growing fire risks'.
Mr Field said: 'Since 2023, we have seen a fire, on average, every other day and these fires are ferocious, producing extremely toxic smoke.'
Many recent fires have involved second-hand e-bikes or e-scooters which have been modified using parts bought online, not meeting the correct safety standard, he added.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) chiefs believe the fire at a block of flats in Bethnal Green, east London,was caused by the failure of a lithium-ion battery.
The Bethnal Green blaze on April 9 saw 50 people evacuated after it spread through the block in Cornwall Avenue.
One man jumped from a second-floor window to escape the flames but was unhurt.
Mr Field said: 'This would have been a terrifying ordeal for all those inside this building. Firefighters demonstrated great courage to bring multiple people, including one child, to safety.
'The condition of one of the 11 people taken to hospital is no longer life-threatening.'
The fire chief urged people to store e-bikes and e-scooters outside or in a location such as a shed if possible, or to keep them in rooms where the door can be shut to contain a fire.
He also advised avoiding leaving e-bikes and e-scooters unattended when charging, to use correct chargers and to not overcharge the battery.
Batteries using lithium-ion technology are typically fitted to e-bikes. They have caused a number of lethal explosions and fires after being plugged into the wrong chargers.
In February, a coroner ruled that the deaths of a couple and their two dogs in a house fire had been caused when a charging e-bike battery ignited and 'rapidly escalated into an intense blaze'.
Lutfur Rahman, the Tower Hamlets mayor, said: 'We are finding and destroying unsafe batteries, and we've halved the number of e-bike battery-related fires in the borough by 50 per cent, but we need all e-bike and e-scooter users to help protect our community.'
It comes after councils across the capital called for tougher regulation of e-bike rental companies over fears that the vehicles were being dumped on pavements by customers instead of parked in designated bays.
E-bikes have long been a cause for concern in London. In March, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London banned e-bikes from Tube and rail services in London after unions threatened to strike unless the devices were not allowed on TfL services.
The ban includes conventional bicycles that have been turned into e-bikes using conversion kits.
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