A New Year’s Eve fire on a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway car was caused by an e-bike and three people were injured, according to the city’s public transit operator.
“An e-bike caught fire on board a northbound subway train as it arrived at Sheppard-Yonge Station, causing significant damage and smoke,” senior communications adviser Adrian Grundy told The Epoch Times in an email.
“A TTC operator was taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Two customers also sustained injuries and were transported to hospital,” he added.
“We are grateful to Toronto Fire Services for their fast action in extinguishing the fire, and to TTC staff at Sheppard-Yonge Station for ensuring all customers were safely evacuated.”
Mr. Grundy said the TTC was looking into how to prevent future incidents.
“We are examining similar incidents of e-bike fires that have occurred on transit systems in North America and Europe. We are continuing to work with Toronto Fire Services to better understand what caused this e-bike to ignite,” he wrote.
“Once we have a clear understanding of what happened we can best determine next steps.”
Evacuation, Investigation
Toronto Police Services (TPS) responded to the call around 3 p.m. at the Sheppard-Yonge Station, media relations officer Ashley Visser told The Epoch Times.Toronto police described the injuries as “non-life-threatening” and Ms. Visser said there was nothing criminal about the call.
Toronto Fire Services (TFS) Captain Dan Vieira said crews extinguished the fire and confirmed it involved an e-bike.
“When fire crews investigated and there was an e-bike, they confirmed that an e-bike was on fire on the train,” Mr. Vieira told The Epoch Times.
Mr. Vieira of TFS says there is no estimate on damages at this time.
“Our fire investigation team has been engaged, so they'll be doing an investigation into the cause, circumstances, the origin of the fire,” he said. “Until then, we don’t have the cause or anything of that nature.”
E-bike Fire Risks
It’s not the first time that e-bikes have been a safety issue due to the lithium-ion batteries that power the vehicles.“They’re more easily damaged than other types of batteries and can become hazardous in certain conditions since they are more volatile,”
Health Canada says on its website about lithium-ion batteries.
“While there are no national or international statistics on how often e-bikes or e-scooters catch on fire, it does happen with some regularity—and the numbers are rising,” the NFPA says on its website.
Toronto Fire Services says lithium-ion batteries “store a large amount of energy in a small amount of space [and] can pose potential fire safety hazards if not used properly.” It notes that these batteries are used to power many kinds of devices, including cellphones, laptops, and toys.
Transport Canada (TC) says third-party lithium-ion batteries represent the biggest safety issue, referring to batteries from “unrecognized brands or marketplaces” that might be “substandard, counterfeit or poorly manufactured, and can present an increased risk of fire.”
“Half of all third-party batteries failed required safety tests, some explosively,” a TC safety document says. “These batteries were found on several major online marketplaces.”
