E-Bike Fires Drive Clamour for Tougher Laws

An e-bike (L) moments before it catches fire (R) on the platform of a railway station in Sutton, Surrey, England, on March 21, 2024. London Fire Brigade

Campaigners, including the family of a 21-year-old woman who was killed in an e-bike fire last year, are calling on the government to take action about poor quality batteries, chargers, and e-bike conversion kits which pose a major fire risk.

The call for action is supported by the London Fire Brigade (LFB), whose deputy assistant commissioner, Richard Field, told The Epoch Times, “E-bike and e-scooter fires are the fastest growing fire trend in London.”

There have been 43 fires in London alone so far this year, compared with 27 in the same period in 2022.

Mr. Field said: “These type of fires produce toxic, flammable gases that are often hard to extinguish. When these batteries and these chargers fail, they do so with ferocity. These fires quite often develop very quickly.”

The LFB has released a video of an e-bike catching fire on the platform at Sutton railway station in south London on March 21 and the footage shows how rapidly it ignites and how fiercely it burns.

When e-bikes or e-scooters catch fire indoors or in enclosed spaces the consequences can be catastrophic.

Fire Horror on New Year’s Day

After a long shift on New Year’s Eve at a London nightclub, Sofia Duarte, a 21-year-old barmaid, went to sleep on the morning of Jan. 1, 2023 at the second floor flat of her boyfriend, Luis Zambrano, on the Old Kent Road in south London.

While they slept an e-bike being charged in the communal hallway of the flats caught fire and the thick, acrid smoke rose up the stairwell.

Mr. Zambrano would later tell The Sun: “It wasn’t like normal smoke. It was like the air was filled with battery acid. It was hot, painful to breathe.”

He managed to jump out of a window to safety but firefighters found the body of Ms. Duarte in a hallway, where she had been overcome by smoke.

Ms. Duarte’s mother, Maria Frasquilho Macarro, told the BBC in January, “The most important thing in my whole world has been taken away, all because of some stupid bike.”

The family emigrated to Britain from Portugal and family friend Alda Simoes told The Epoch Times she is now campaigning for a change in the law.

Ms. Simoes has launched an online petition, which is supported by the LFB, which calls for “stronger legislation on e-bikes and e-scooters ... to ensure their safe usage.”

An undated image of Sofia Duarte who was killed when an e-bike caught fire in the communal hallway of flats in Southwark, London, on Jan. 1, 2023. Family handout

The petition has been signed by 43,000 people.

Electrical Safety First, a campaign group, has gone a step further and drafted a bill that would ban the sale of any “electric-powered micromobility vehicle or a secondary lithium-ion battery” which does not meet strict safety standards.

Brompton Bicycles Back Safety Campaign

On April 13, Brompton Bicycles became the 46th organisation to back Electrical Safety First’s campaign.

Managing Director Will Butler-Adams told The Telegraph, “We’ve got poor quality stuff coming into the UK and if we’re not careful, that will affect the whole momentum of light electric vehicle transport, which would be an absolute chronic shame.”

An inquest into Ms. Duarte’s death at Southwark Coroner’s Court in February heard two e-bikes were charging in the hallway and the fire began in one which had been converted from an ordinary bicycle.

The LFB told Assistant Coroner Xavier Mooyaart it was not possible to explain precisely why the battery ignited.

Mr. Mooyaart refused to use his power to call for a prevention of future death report, saying there was insufficient evidence.

An undated image of Sofia Duarte, who was killed when an e-bike caught fire in the communal hallway of a block of flats in London on Jan. 1, 2023, and her mother Maria Frasquilho Macarro (L). Family handout

Mr. Field said the LFB urges people not to leave e-bikes or e-scooters in an exit route to a building and he said, “We urge people never to charge batteries when they’re asleep, so they can react should there be an emergency.”

The LFB says around 40 percent of e-bike fires happen on bikes that have had conversion kits used on them.

Price of Conversion Kits Makes Them Popular

Ms. Simoes told The Epoch Times, “People often buy these conversion kits because they are so much cheaper than buying a proper e-bike.”

She said conversion kits cost around £300, while ready-made e-bikes can cost £2,000 or more.

“There are no rules at all on e-bikes. These bikes can cause damage and death,” she said.

Ms. Simoes said, “E-bikes are good for the environment and help people get to work quicker but people are not using them the correct way and unbranded batteries are being sold, especially on the internet.”

She said she did not blame the owner of the e-bike that ignited the fire which killed Ms. Duarte.

“He himself lived on the second floor with his mother, father, and fiance and he'd never have put them in danger if he knew the danger. But I know he felt guilty,” said Ms. Simoes.

LFB has launched a #ChargeSafe campaign and on its website it is urging people:

• Don’t block your exit with charging batteries or e-bike and e-scooters. If a fire breaks out, you won’t be able to safely leave your home. Store them in a shed or garage where possible.
• Never leave your battery to charge when you are out or whilst you sleep.
• Use the correct charger for your battery, and make sure to buy from a reputable seller.

Earlier this week New York Fire Department Commissioner Laura Cavanagh announced it had arrested a shopkeeper in Brooklyn, Tian Liang Lu, who was selling uncertificated lithium-ion batteries and e-bikes. Mr. Tian has been charged with reckless endangerment.

Firefighters and investigators go through the aftermath of a fire which authorities say started at an e-bike shop and spread to upper-floor apartments, in New York on June 20, 2023. Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo

In June 2023 four people were killed when lithium-ion batteries caught fire in a shop below an apartment building in New York’s Chinatown.

There has been growing concern globally about the fire risk from lithium-ion batteries.

Joshua Drew, from Electrical Safety First, told The Epoch Times, “When lithium-ion batteries become damaged or fail, they fall into an irreversible process called thermal runaway.”

“Within the battery a chemical reaction occurs which produces many toxic gases but also produces oxygen. Most conventional means of extinguishing fires work by smothering the fire and starving it of oxygen causing the fire to extinguish,” he added.

Mr. Drew explained: “There are many individual battery cells that heat up in rapid speed to extremely high temperatures, causing the neighbouring cell to fail, like a domino effect. This is why these fires are unique in their ferocity as they effectively continue to fuel themselves.”

Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group, has warned of the danger of building a proposed electric bus garage underneath a residential skyscraper in Edgware, north London.

In January, Mr. Blackman told The Epoch Times, “There’s a huge fire safety risk, and you could get to a position whereby a block of flats could literally collapse under the circumstances, which doesn’t bear thinking about.”

An undated image of a man with an e-bike on board a London Underground train in London. Courtesy Alda Simoes

Ferry operators have also been warned of the danger posed by electric vehicles on board ships.

In January Matt Humby, a senior technical consultant at fire extinguisher manufacturer Firechief Global, told The Epoch Times electrical vehicle fires are “very challenging to put out” once they go into thermal runaway.

Between Jan. 1 and April 15, there have been 33 e-bike fires and 10 blazes involving e-scooters in London and the same pattern is emerging across the country.

In June 2023 Gemma Germeney, 31, and her children Lilly, 8, and 4-year-old Oliver, were killed when an e-bike caught fire at a flat in Cambridge.

The children’s father, Scott Peden, spent four weeks in an induced coma after the blaze but ultimately survived.

Mr. Peden had bought a replacement e-bike battery a few weeks earlier and was charging it overnight when it burst into flames.

Cambridgeshire Fire Service supports the Electrical Safety First campaign for tougher laws and Mr. Peden told the BBC in November, “There needs to be a law about buying second-hand batteries, they need to be checked, MOT'ed.”

Electrical Safety First published a report last year which said, “E-bikes and other forms of e-micromobility are increasingly being seen as part of the solution in reaching these ambitious emissions targets.”

The report added, “Micromobility is arguably an important contributor to transport decarbonisation by encouraging mode shift from private cars, improving air quality, and reducing congestion.”

But the report went on to say there were “limited data” on how many fires that were caused by e-bikes and e-scooters and said, “Such deficiencies in the IRS [Incident Recording System] are hampering developments in fire prevention strategies required to mitigate fires from lithium-ion batteries.”

Insurers Say E-Cycles ‘Emerging Fire Risk’

A spokeswoman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said in an email to The Epoch Times: “Lithium-ion batteries are a part of our everyday lives and are commonly used in laptops and mobile phones. Evidence suggests that the adoption of battery-powered e-cycles is becoming an emerging fire risk, particularly when devices are damaged or modified, or when incorrect or counterfeit chargers are used.”

She added: “Lithium battery fires can be particularly dangerous and hard to extinguish. Insurers, fire departments, and industry stakeholders want to see our safety regulations modernised and enforced to mitigate against the fire risks that they pose.”

The ABI advised owners of e-bikes and e-scooters to “watch out for excessive heat, smells, bulging, or leaks which could indicate battery failure.”

Halfords said it does not service converted e-bikes, provide a converting service, or sell e-bike converter kits.

A Halfords spokesman said: “It is very important that electric bike and electric scooter owners use only chargers that are designed for their model. All Halfords chargers are designed specifically for our e-bikes and e-scooters and comply with relevant safety directives.”

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson previously said, “Manufacturers, importers, and distributors of consumer products must ensure that the products supplied, including the batteries and chargers that power them, are safe and that they have complied with the relevant product safety regulations before placing their products on the UK market.”