On occasions batteries can fail catastrophically, they can ‘explode’ and/or lead to a rapidly developing fire. The National Fire Chiefs Council, NFCC, recently published a guide for how to handle and charge e-bikes and e-scooters safely. The number of such fires to the end of September 2022 shows a further increase of 28% on 2021’s monthly average figure. ![]() The warning comes as new figures show that the number of fires caused by exploding lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes soared by almost 150% in 2021, according to data obtained in response to a Freedom of Information request by insurance company Zurich. "When these batteries and chargers fail, they do so with ferocity," Pugsley said.Īccording to a March 7 article on IFSEC Global, the British Metals Recycling Association is urging the UK government to lead a new campaign to highlight the dangers of fires from exploding lithium-ion batteries, saying the problem has been “ignored for too long”. And the fires, when they occur, can get serious very fast: The problem, according to assistant commissioner for fire safety Charlie Pugsley is that the devices are often stored in communal areas and corridors, blocking people's only means of escape, which means people can die in fires they would have otherwise easily been able to escape from. Following the enormous surge in incidents, consumers are being warned to only buy a device from reputable retailers.Īccording to Freedom of Information data, obtained by the insurer Zurich, the number of fires caused by batteries has surged almost 150% in the last year.įirefighters in London were called to 88 fires by e-bikes last year,which is an increase by 80% compared to 2021. Just like in New York, there has been an alarming' increase in the number of fires caused by e-scooter and e-bike batteries in London, UK.Īccording to a recent article by Sky News, the London Fire Brigade were called to 88 fires caused by privately owned e-bikes last year.
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