Fire chief’s warning as DIY e-bikes spark rise in house blazes - with 34 in London alone so far this year

The growing popularity of electric bikes fitted with sub-standard batteries is causing a swathe of house fires, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has revealed. 

Fire chiefs are reporting a 'hugely alarming' escalation in the number of blazes caused by the batteries on bikes catching fire while being charged in homes.

London Fire Brigade has revealed there have been 34 e-bike battery fires in the capital alone so far this year, compared with 47 during the whole of 2021. And there is evidence of a similar pattern of fires in other parts of the country. Equipment bought on the internet is thought to be the principal cause, particularly when standard pedal bikes have been fitted with home-conversion kits.

Last week, a family of seven were taken to hospital after an e-bike battery sparked a blaze that gutted their semi-detached home in Rugeley, Staffordshire, destroying all their possessions.

It follows another blaze last month in a tower block in West London – close to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire. The e-bike battery caught fire while being charged overnight in a 12th-floor flat, leading to the block being evacuated.

In June, a deaf man in Washington, Tyne and Wear, was lucky to escape from his ground-floor flat after his e-bike caught fire while it was charging in his living room. He was sleeping at the time, and was only alerted by the smell of smoke.

That incident came just days after another fire in Liverpool, in which two people were treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns after their e-bike caught fire in their hotel room.

Specialist e-bike retailer, Fully Charged, is now warning that sub-standard batteries that may not have been subject to rigorous quality and safety testing can amount to 'bombs waiting to explode'. 

London Fire Brigade's 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.

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