E-bike safety: Mother calls for more regulations after daughter's death

Sofia's mother wants to raise awareness of the dangers of lithium batteries

The mother of a 21-year-old woman who died in a fire thought to be caused by a converted e-bike battery is calling for more government regulation.

Maria Frasquilho Macarro said she cries every day since her daughter, Sofia Duarte, passed away in the fire at her flat on Old Kent Road in Southwark.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) believes an e-bike blocked her escape route.

The government said those making and selling consumer products must ensure they were safe.

LFB said so far this year its crews had been called to an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day, a 60% increase compared with the same period as last year.

Across the whole of 2022, LFB said it attended 87 e-bike and 29 e-scooter fires.

"It feels like a nightmare and I can't wake up," Sofia's mother said

Ms Frasquilho Macarro said: "It's too much. I think about her when I wake up, before I sleep. I cry every day in my job, at home. It's not easy. My heart is broken.

"Sofia loved life, she loved to party and she enjoyed her job working behind the bar at a nightclub. Now all I have left is my daughter's ashes."

The last time she spoke to her daughter was at six minutes past midnight on New Year's Day this year when Sofia texted her to say "happy new year mummy" and sent a heart emoji.

"Sofia meant the world to me and my family. I don't know how to live without her. It feels like a nightmare and I can't wake up," she said.

LFB said it was worried there would be more deaths like Sofia's

Following the fire in south-east London, LFB said investigators found a bicycle had been converted into an e-bike and the bike's lithium battery pack had failed, causing the fire.

The brigade added such conversion kits enable people to add an electric motor to their bikes, but not all of them are sold with a battery. Cheaper batteries sold online do not necessarily adhere to UK safety regulations, and are more likely to fail and present an increased fire risk, it added.

An inquest into Sofia's death is ongoing and LFB said it had been granted special permission so it could raise awareness of the fire risks and to prevent future deaths.

It has launched Charge Safe, which is calling for people to follow safety advice.

LFB's deputy commissioner, Dom Ellis, said the brigade was worried if not enough was done to raise awareness of the risks of e-bike and e-scooter batteries, "both to the commuters and e-bike users and also to the wider government regulators", there would be an increase in deaths and injuries.

"The only way to be sure of a legal, safe and reliable e-bike is to buy one in complete form, from a trusted and reputed retailer," he added.

LFB said it was safest to buy an e-bike from a "trusted and reputed retailer"

LFB's e-bike safety advice:

• Never block your escape route

• Check your battery and charger meets UK safety standards, use the correct charger, and always by an official item from a reputable seller

• Let the battery cool down before charging it, and unplug it when it's finished charging

• Install fire alarms where you are charging your e-bike or e-scooter, and test them regularly

Current government requirements stipulate electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) must show the power output, the battery's voltage and have a maximum power output of 250 watts.

Ms Frasquilho Macarro said: "I really want to make sure her death is not in vain, and if I can raise awareness about the dangers of e-bikes and lithium batteries then there will be a positive in this."

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson 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."

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