'Unexploded bombs': why e-bikes are the fastest growing fire risk

Campaigners have described some e-bikes as being like "unexploded bombs" after a record 11 people died from e-bike fires in the UK last year.

The government is under pressure to act over the sale of dangerous products as unsafe batteries and conversion kits continue to flood the market.

'Rapid fireballs'

London Fire Brigade said that e-bikes and e-scooters are now the fastest growing fire risk in the capital, after it recorded 149 e-bike fires in 2023, up sharply from 87 in 2022.

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The lithium-ion batteries used on e-bikes store a large amount of energy in a small space. Fires can be caused by poorly designed batteries, from charging them incorrectly or from damage to the battery.

Such fires can be "particularly deadly", said The Observer, as they can "rapidly ignite in a fireball". Because e-bikes are "routinely left to charge overnight in hallways", they can "block what may be the only exit" in the case of domestic fires. This can lead to people being forced to jump from windows.

Yvonne Fovargue, a Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on online and home electrical safety, said e-bikes can reach a "phenomenally high" temperature in "seconds" so owning one is "almost like having an unexploded bomb in your house".

A series of tragedies have cast a shadow over this popular form of transport. Sofia Duarte, 21, died on New Year's Day 2023 after a fire, believed to have been caused by an unbranded battery pack, broke out in the hallway of a property she was staying in at Bermondsey, southeast London.

Mizanur Rahman, 41, died two months later after a fire at an east London flat caused by an e-bike that had been modified with a battery cage and motor. In the same year, Bobby Lee, 74, died from burns and smoke inhalation in north London when a lithium battery on a mountain bike converted to an e-bike exploded.

Gemma Germeney, 31, and children Lilly, 8, and Oliver, 4, died in a fire at their Cambridgeshire home last summer. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said the most probable cause of the blaze was an e-bike that was charging.

Insurance firm Aviva said it has seen customer claims "related to fires which started due to rechargeable e-bikes exploding during charging", including "claims involving failed e-bike batteries and e-bikes purchased second-hand".

'Avoidable tragedies'

Pressure is growing for action. Neil Coyle, the Labour MP for Bermondsey, said regulators needed stronger powers to force online retailers to withdraw unsafe products. "The number of deaths is growing and is likely to continue to grow unless there are greater powers to remove dangerous items," he said. Each death is a "tragedy", he added, but it's "also an avoidable tragedy".

Lesley Rudd, chief executive of the charity Electrical Safety First, is calling on ministers to implement the measures in a 10-minute rule bill on e-bike safety due to be tabled by Fovargue. Fires caused when these batteries fail are "unique in their ferocity and can have devastating consequences", Rudd said.

More than 70% of adults in the UK didn't know the signs that a lithium-ion battery, the type found in e-bikes and e-scooters, is on the brink of failure, according to a recent Aviva survey . These signs include heating, leaking, swelling and unusual smells and noises.

Electrical Safety First advises people to only purchase e-bikes and chargers from reputable retailers. If the original charger is not available, they suggest obtaining a replacement from the original manufacturer, because counterfeit and substandard chargers can be "deadly".

Customers should ensure that an e-bike is of good quality, by checking for "misspellings, bad translations and attempts to copy larger brands", and checking that there are warranty cards and instructions.