E-bike ignites every two days, says fire brigade

London Fire Brigade (LFB) has been called to one e-scooter or e-bike fire every two days this year, an LFB spokesman said.

A lithium-ion battery fire can rip through a double bedroom in 10 to 15 seconds, Dominic Ellis, deputy commissioner at LFB, told City Hall on Wednesday.

The batteries, which power electric scooters and bicycles, can create "quick and ferocious" house fires, he explained.

A battery fire may start due to impact damage or short circuiting, the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee heard.

Mr Ellis told the committee that there has been a 60% increase in e-bike fires this year, "partially linked to [retrofitted] bikes".

To date, there have been 70 e-bike, 14 e-scooter and 35 other lithium-battery fires in London in 2023, according to LFB data.

"For a lot of the gig economy... it’s at the end of their bed and they’re probably charging while [the owner sleeps] because they’ve just done a 14-hour shift and they need to get back out there again," Mr Ellis said.

"It’s the intimacy of this risk that's the key concern."

Retrofitted bikes often cause the fires, LFB said

Mr Ellis said that when a lithium-ion battery begins to fail, it smells like "nail varnish remover" and makes a "highly flammable toxic gas cloud" that looks like steam.

He described jets of fire produced by the chemical reaction that measure between 1,000C (1832F) and 2,000C. "So it’s seriously hot," he said.

"When it explodes, bits of molten metal are sprayed across the room."

'Good and bad e-bikes'

Dan Parsons, director of Fully Charged e-bikes, a bike company, told the committee that a greater distinction is needed between "good and bad e-bikes".

He said that "good e-bikes" from reputable companies have had "no issues".

However retrofit kits, often used by food-delivery workers, pose a danger, he said.

Mr Ellis said that buying from reputable sellers "does not completely remove the risk of fire" and urged Londoners to follow LFB safety advice.

Baroness Fiona Twycross, deputy mayor for fire and resilience at City Hall, added: "There is an urgent need for the government to introduce a regulatory framework."

E-scooters were banned on train networks in the South East earlier this month.

Transport for London introduced a ban on e-scooters and e-unicycles across its network in December 2021. Folding e-bikes are permitted on the network.