Mizanur Rahman death: Coroner calls for e-bike battery standards

Mizanur Rahman was rescued from the fire but died later in hospital

A coroner has called for tighter regulations on e-bike batteries and charging devices after a father of two died following a fire.

Mizanur Rahman, 41, died after the fire at a flat on Cornwall Street, in Shadwell, east London, on 5 March.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the blaze was caused by a faulty lithium ion e-bike battery on charge.

Currently, there are no British or European standards to control what e-bike batteries can be sold in the UK.

There are also no rules governing chargers.

Mr Rahman was one of nine people to die nationally in fires attributed to faulty lithium ion batteries.

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Adam Smith, coroner for Inner North London, wrote in a prevention of future deaths report that this meant it was easy for people to buy lithium ion batteries that were not of sufficient quality or to an appropriate standard to charge safely.

Mr Rahman was rescued from a bedroom by firefighters after they were called to the scene at 02:52 GMT.

He was taken to hospital but died on 9 March from the effects of smoke inhalation.

The fire occurred on the fourth floor

The battery, which had been owned by another occupant of the flat, was found to have been heavily modified, including a retro-fitted additional battery cage and motor.

Mr Smith wrote there was a risk of a "catastrophic failure" when a lithium ion battery was plugged into a charger with a different voltage rating.

He called for the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) to introduce a standard or to direct his recommendation to an organisation or public body that could.

He said he understood the OPSS was currently undertaking a product safety review but it was "clear that there is an existing, ongoing and future risk of further deaths whilst it continues to be the case that there are no controls or standards".

Recent figures showed LFB tackled 123 e-bike and e-scooters fires this year by the end of August, compared with a total of 116 in 2022 and 78 in 2021.

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