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A record number of fires involving ebikes and e-scooters were reported in the UK last year, prompting renewed warnings over the dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries.
New government figures show that fire services responded to 211 such incidents in 2024 – a slight increase from 207 in 2023, but a dramatic rise from just two recorded in 2017.
While ebikes and e-scooters remain a popular low-emission mode of transport, the London fire brigade has warned that they represent a “growing fire risk”.
In a statement this week, the brigade said: “The capital has seen a spate of ebike and e-scooter fires in recent days, indicating the urgent need for action to make the vehicles safer.
“Ebikes and e-scooters – particularly those that have been modified – are one of London’s fastest growing fire risks.”
London remains the UK’s biggest hotspot for such fires, with 175 reported in the capital in 2024 alone.
The London fire brigade said it had responded to several serious incidents in recent days, including a blaze on the eighth-floor balcony of a tower block in Battersea, and a house fire in Hackney that forced five people to flee in the early hours. Firefighters dealt with about 10 separate ebike-related fires over just five days.
Government data also shows ebike-related fires led to a total of eight deaths in 2024.
In December, a coroner warned of the life-threatening dangers of charging ebikes indoors, after the death of eight-year-old Luke Albiston O’Donnell in Merseyside, during a fire started as the result of an ebike’s charging lithium battery igniting.
In another tragic case in Coventry, a fire caused by an ebike battery killed Natasha Johnson-Mall and Karlo Bogdan, along with their two dogs.
Nearly half of the fires reported in 2024 broke out inside homes, often in bedrooms, kitchens or corridors. Just over a third started outdoors, including in gardens, balconies or sheds. In almost all cases, the battery or generator was identified as the source of the fire.
In response to the growing risks, the UK government has introduced new legislation aimed at regulating the sale of ebikes and similar products. However, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill has come under fire for failing to directly mention the threat posed by lithium-ion batteries.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the Liberal Democrat MP Clive Jones said the bill must “address the growing number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries”.
“There remains no reference in the bill to lithium-ion batteries, despite the real and growing harm they cause,” he said.
Justin Madders, a parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Business and Trade, responded: “While I fully recognise the concerns raised about batteries, the bill does not and should not single out individual product types.” He added: “At this stage, we are actively exploring what regulatory changes might make the greatest difference on lithium-ion batteries.”
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The British Safety Council says “lithium-ion battery failures are relatively rare, but in the event of a malfunction, they can represent a serious fire risk”.
“If a battery degrades, gets hot, or suffers a short circuit, heat and pressure build up inside.
“Warning signs that a battery is likely to fail include bulging or swelling, sometimes accompanied by other signs such as discharging too fast and/or the battery being hot to the touch.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said the government “takes the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries very seriously”.
It is understood that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the UK’s national product regulator, is working to remove unsafe products from the market.
The government has also pledged to update product safety laws and increase enforcement at ports to prevent dangerous imports from reaching consumers.
As part of its public safety efforts, the government has also backed the Buy Safe, Be Safe campaign, which encourages consumers to purchase ebikes and e-scooters from reputable retailers and to use approved chargers.
