The growing popularity of electric bikes is causing a spate of home fires, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has revealed.
Fire chiefs are reporting an “extremely alarming” escalation in the number of fires caused by bike batteries catching fire while being charged in homes.
London Firefighters have revealed there have been 34 e-bike battery fires so far this year in the capital alone, compared to 47 for all of 2021. And there is evidence of a similar pattern of fires elsewhere in the country.
Equipment bought on the internet is thought to be the main culprit, especially when standard pedal bikes have been fitted with home conversion kits.
The London Fire Brigade has announced there have been 34 e-bike battery fires so far this year in the capital alone, compared to 47 for all of 2021
A major e-bike retailer, Fully Charged, is now warning that the batteries powering the machines “may be bombs waiting to explode”.
Last week a family of seven were hospitalized after an e-bike battery started a fire that wiped out their semi-detached house in Rugeley, Staffordshire, and destroyed all their belongings.
It follows another fire last month at a high-rise building in west London – near the site of the Grenfell Tower fire. The e-bike’s battery caught fire while charging overnight in a 12th-floor apartment, prompting the block to be evacuated.
In June, a deaf man in Washington, Tyne and Wear was lucky enough to escape his ground floor apartment after his e-bike caught fire while being charged in his living room. He was asleep at this point and was only alerted by the smell of smoke.
That incident comes just days after another fire in Liverpool left two people treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns after their e-bike caught fire in their hotel room.
A major e-bike retailer, Fully Charged, is now warning that the batteries powering the machines can become “bombs waiting to explode” if not charged or used according to manufacturers’ strict guidelines incompatible replacement chargers are paired.
London Fire Brigade Deputy Assistant Commissioner Charlie Pugsley has also urged people to be aware of the dangers involved in converting their pedal bikes into e-bikes using DIY kits bought online.
One in seven cyclists now own an e-bike, with sales estimated at £315m in 2021, up from £275m in 2020
Last month, Merseyside Fire and Rescue warned people not to use conversion kits “as standard balance bikes converted into electric bikes pose a greater safety risk as batteries and chargers are often sourced from different suppliers”.
“There has been a massive increase in the number of people using electric bikes,” Mr Pugsley said. “While we have addressed the occasional fire on a manufactured e-bike, this is more likely to happen if the user has purchased an incompatible replacement charger.
“But one of the biggest concerns are conversion kits that you can put on regular bikes.”
One in seven cyclists now owns an e-bike, with sales estimated at £315m in 2021, up from £275m in 2020, according to Mintel. The bikes have an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery, so riders don’t always have to pedal.
While a mid-range e-bike costs over £3,000, a DIY kit to convert an existing balance bike can cost as little as £200. The kits are widely available online and can be assembled in as little as 30 minutes.
“I could go online right now and buy a conversion kit off eBay for a few hundred pounds,” said Dan Parsons, co-founder of Fully Charged.
“It will have rolled out of a factory, mostly in China, and probably not been rigorously tested for safety. I could then strap it to a cheap bike to build a “Frankenbike”. These are bombs waiting to explode.”
Last month, Merseyside Fire and Rescue warned people not to use conversion kits “as standard balance bikes converted into electric bikes pose a greater safety risk as batteries and chargers are often sourced from different suppliers”.
The warning came after one of the worst e-bike fires the brigade had seen, which destroyed the home of a mother and her four children in Huyton, Merseyside. The woman had bought a conversion kit for her eldest son’s balance bike from an eBay seller.
According to the woman’s brother, James Taylor, the battery began “sparking” and exploded after being unplugged.
“My sister went over to pull the plug and she exploded in the process,” said Mr. Taylor. “She was holding my 18-month-old niece who has chronic lung disease and cerebral palsy and therefore needs an oxygen tank.
“The fire spread pretty quickly and when it hit the oxygen tanks she’s keeping for the baby, the whole house blew up.”
Retailers Evans Cycles and Halfords refuse to sell conversion kits. Halfords said it was due to concerns about their safety.
Deputy Commissioner Pugsley has warned people to check that the parts they use are manufacturer-approved.
“All we can do is hope that the next fire that we go to isn’t really tragic and someone loses their life,” he said.
