Afghan father of seven died trying to escape Bristol e-bike fire, says coroner
Abdul Jabar Oryakhel died falling from the top floor of Twinnell House in 2022, while trying to escape an e-bike fire
Last updated 25th Jun 2024
A coroner has ruled that an Afghan father of seven died by accident whilst trying to escape a fire in a Bristol block of flats.
Abdul Jabar Oryakhel (30) fell to his death from the 16th floor at Twinnell House in the early hours of 25 September 2022, when a fire broke out in the flat where he was sleeping.
During an inquest at Avon Coroners Court we heard Abdul almost certainly fell by accident while trying to escape the flames by climbing out of a window, feeling that his exit out of the front door was blocked.
Formally closing the case, coroner Mary Voisin ruled his death an accident.
What happened at Twinnell House?
During the night of the 25 September 2022 Abdul and three other men were asleep in flat 132, on the 16th floor, when suddenly, soon after 2am, they were awoken by a fire.
Speaking at Avon Coroners Court the three other men each gave evidence in turn, that they heard a person which they believed to be Abdul screaming for help. However they never saw him as they had been sleeping in the living room, while Abdul had been in the bedroom.
One of the men described trying to leave the living room and immediately seeing smoke, before moving to the kitchen and screaming for help out of the window.
He eventually managed to escape out of the front door of the flat, but was so badly injured that he then spent three weeks in a coma.
The other two both gave evidence that they had little memory of the night in question, but we know from the emergency services that they were pulled to safety from a window ledge 16 storeys up.
What happened to Abdul?
As none of the other three men saw Abdul once awoken by the shouts for help, we cannot know for certain, the circumstances which led to his fall.
However, giving evidence on behalf of Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Steve Quinton said the fire was so severe that escape through the front door would have been "nigh on impossible".
As such the coroner concluded that most likely, Abdul climbed out of the window trying to escape and tragically lost his footing.
Another resident living in a flat on the fourth floor gave written evidence that he saw Abdul fall past his flat, while up by chance to open a window.
The cause
During the inquest we heard an e-bike was being stored in a cupboard in the flat in question, off of the entrance corridor.
During his evidence Mr Quinton from the Fire Service described how the fire clearly originated from that area, but also that the speed at which it took hold and its severity was "consistent" with it having been caused by the bike.
In rare circumstances lithium ion batteries like those used in e-bikes, e-scooters and mobile phones can explode when damaged or over charged.
"Firstly I'd like to obviously pay condolences on behalf of myself and the (Fire) Service to the deceased and his family," Steve Quinton said.
"It was a truly tragic accident, which has been confirmed by the coroner today."
Are e-bikes safe?
Increasingly, fires caused by lithium ion batteries are making headlines, both for their ferociousness and overall impact.
On Monday (24 June) a fire at a factory manufacturing the batteries in South Korea killed 23 workers, with reports suggesting it spread so rapidly that many of them likely succumbed within seconds.
Here in the UK Planet Rock has previously reported on other incidents including a fire in Cambridge last year in which a man lost his entire family and one in a house in London, which was caught on camera.
However, speaking to us following the coroner's conclusions Mr Quinton said devices like e-bikes and e-scooters are safe, so long as they are used correctly.
"These types of fires are on the increase," he said.
"What I would stress though is, people shouldn't be alarmed...there are obviously safety messages we like to give out around how you charge it, how you don't leave it unattended...(but) people shouldn't be alarmed.
"The key advice is make sure when you charge any lithium battery, make sure you never leave it unattended.
"Charge it for a short period of time, make sure the charger is not hot, make sure the plug is not hot. If you see that that plug or charger is hot then stop straight away and consult the manufacturer."
It is also advised you always use the charger which comes with the product in question and never leave the device in a place which could come to block your exit, should disaster strike.
"As a Fire and Rescue Service we make sure people have a safe escape route (and) bedtime routine, so that in the event of any incident, make sure you don't block your escape routes and you can get out of the property."
Speaking to us in 2022 following the fire at Twinnell House, Paul Christensen, who is a professor of electrochemistry at Newcastle University said there needs to be more education around the potential dangers.
"The simple fact is that a lithium ion battery stores a very large amount of energy in a very small space, and anything that does that, for example petrol in a petrol tank, if that energy gets out in an uncontrolled fashion or if you abuse it in some way, essentially you're in trouble," he told us.
"If we focus down on e-scooters and e-bikes then, e-scooters can take a lot of hammering.
"If you, for example, do bunny hops of the kerb and off seats and things, walls, that crushes the battery case..."
He said: "You most certainly do not charge it indoors.
"If you have to charge it indoors, for example if you do live in a flat, then only charge it when you are awake and present.
"In real terms the numbers (of accidents) are very small, but the consequences of failure can be horrendous, as we have very sadly seen..."
A tribute
By chance the tenant of flat 132, Abdul's cousin Rohani Nasir, was out working at the time of the fire, as a taxi driver.
He paid tribute to Abdul after the inquest.
"He was very nice and soft and gentle person," he said.
"Always caring, helping others and since he came to Bristol he has made more friends than me in Bristol.
"That's just because he was so caring, helping other people in need. He was always telling me that help is one of the good deeds that you should be doing."