E-bikes and E-scooters remain the capital’s fastest-growing fire risk, says London Fire Brigade

Sofia Duarte, 21, died when a blaze caused by a converted e-bike battery ripped through her flat on Old Kent Road, Southwark, on New Year’s Day 2023.

Duarte’s family friend Alda Simoes set up a petition because she says: “We don’t want Sofia to die in vain, sadly deaths are continuing to happen.”

She says if changes in the laws are made, we may save people and prevent people from dying.

They’re calling for MPs to urge the Office for Product Safety and Standards to implement stricter regulations that would cover; clear guidelines for proper handling and stories of these batteries, enforce quality control and standards governing the sale of the lithium-ion batteries and urgent research to fully understand the dangers of conversion kits for e-bikes, batteries and charges. Since the petition was launched, more than 43,000 people have signed it.

Simoes added: “It's so dangerous, and it wasn't popular before, but now it's getting popular.

“That's why the incidents are happening more often. People need to be aware. They should know that even if they buy an e-bike or a battery or secondhand battery, or you buy a battery from the internet, they need to know that there is the risk that it could cause a fire.”

E-scooter and e-bike safety is an issue affecting fire brigades across the UK, but also in other parts of the world. In the US, the New York City Council voted to pass legislation that would increase e-bike regulations in the interest of improved safety as a result of what they describe as a “rapid increase in lithium-ion battery-related fires in both residential and commercial properties that not only destroy property but result in injuries and fatalities”.

In addition, it will see laws prohibiting the sale, lease, or rental of e-bikes and e-scooters, and storage patties for those devices, that fail to meet recognised safety standards.

London Fire Brigade say firefighters in London tackled more e-bike and e-scooter fires in 2023 than they did in the whole of 2022.

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The brigade’s Deputy Commissioner, Charlie Pugsley says they’re concerned that it’s a growing problem where people are having things like e-bikes and e-scooters in their homes that can catch fire. He says efforts are being made to support the public when it comes to safety and to encourage people to buy from a reputable seller, ideally based in England or the UK.

He added: “Sadly, we had three deaths and around about 60 injuries, and we're really concerned that it is a growing problem where people are having things like e-bikes and e-scooters in their homes that can catch fire.

“The way and the rate at which they catch fire is so rapid that if it's blocking your entrance route, you may not be able to escape.

“We would also really like the support of the public and our communities in terms of there are some simple tips we're giving via the charge safe messaging, which is about where you buy the e-bike or e-scooter.”

UK-based company, Swytch, which manufactures and designs electric bike conversion kits launched their company when they noticed a gap in the market for a well-designed universal kit in 2018.

Their CEO, Ollie Montague, says their lithium-ion batteries go through rigorous testing to ensure their batteries exceed all of the required safety standards - which ensures them to be compliant with certification.

However, he argues that it’s less about the safety standards, but about how easy it is to put a battery on the market that doesn’t meet the safety standards.

He added: “Most people buy laptops from brands they recognise from companies that are based here in the UK. As a result, you don't really hear about laptop batteries having issues.

“But at the moment, it's very easy to import a battery for an e-bike from outside of the UK and list it online to sell, deliver it to a customer, and not have to prove at any point that that battery was safely designed or quality controlled.

“So similar to electric vehicle certification that's coming out in 2027, where batteries have to have a passport, we would recommend that something similar is applied to e-bike battery technology.

“If you're buying something that is suspiciously cheap from a brand that you've never heard of, then I would recommend doing a bit of extra research before you buy. And doing that will help us not see as many incidents as we've been seeing in this country.

“But really, what's required is Government regulation, something like a battery passport, so that you're not actually allowed to sell a battery, especially online, until you've proved that that battery meets those basic safety standards that are very easy to achieve.

“When companies import from outside the UK, it's very easy for them to cut corners and very easy for those batteries to then be sold, which can cause damage.”

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson told GB News: “Our cross-Whitehall task force was set up to tackle this very issue and keep the public safe.

“We’re stopping dangerous and non-compliant products from entering through the UK’s ports and borders and are removing additional ones from the market.

“Over the past year alone, the OPSS has issued 19 recalls and enforcement actions and also carried out over 100 compliance checks or site visits across the UK.

“When dangerous products are identified, we act as fast as possible to stop them being sold to protect consumers.”