Calls for more to be done to protect people from E-Bike fires

A flat fire in Coventry over the weekend was started because a battery was left on charge.

Author: Ben CartwrightPublished 4th Oct 2023

An electrical safety group says more needs to be done to protect the public from the dangers of E-bike batteries.

Electrical Safety First say people don't understand the dangers they can cause.

The calls come following multiple fires caused by lithium ion batteries across the country, including in Cambridge and Coventry.

West Midlands Fire Service says it believes a serious fire at the weekend in Samuel Vale House, St Nicholas Street, Radford, was started by the battery of an e-bike.

Giuseppe Cappana, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First, told us:

"People see batteries as benign, safe thing. We're used to having them on our phones, in our shavers...the problem is, with lithium ion batteries is - when you pack so much energy into a small space and things go wrong, that's when we're seeing these devastating fires."

"In our report, they lithium ion E-bike batteries have the equivalent TNT of six hand grenades."

The group are calling for lithium ion batteries used in things like E-bikes and E-scooters to be regulated in the same way as fireworks in the UK. This means they go through rigorous third party inspection to ensure they adhere - and pass - certain guidelines to make sure they are safe for use.

Electrical Safety First have released their 'Battery Breakdown Report' - urging the Government to regulate the sector to stop fires from happening.

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