Peterborough house fire caused by e-bike with wrong charger
Police found the fire spreading to the roof of the two storey house
Last updated 7th Sep 2023
An investigation has found a house fire in Peterborough, which spread to the roof of a two storey house, was caused by an e-bike with the wrong charger.
Firefighters arrived to the house at around 4:30 Sunday 3rd, on Collingham in Orton Goldhay.
Wearing breathing apparatus firefighters used hose reels to extinguish the fire.
No-one was injured but there is significant damage to the home.
A fire service spokesman said: “The fire was caused by a battery in an e-bike overheating, due to an incorrect charger being used to recharge it.
“The occupant of the property had purchased what they thought was a suitable charger to use for the e-bike, however the voltage was too high, so was supplying more power to the battery than it needed.
"This resulted in the battery overcharging, creating excess heat, leading to thermal runaway causing the fire to start.
"The bike itself did have overcharge protection, like most devices of this type, however this will only work with the correct charger, which is why it failed in this instance.
"The most important thing is to make sure you use the correct charger for a device. It can be very confusing to find the right input and voltage, and the product descriptions don’t always help.
"However it is very important to check the voltage a device can take, as well as making sure the charger is fully compliant with UK specifications."
In June, a mother and her two children were killed in a flat fire which police say was likely caused by an e-bike charging overnight.