A burnt e-bike and a false advertisement for e-bikes.
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Firefighters in London are urging people to think twice before picking up a bargain this Black Friday, following a record-breaking year of e-bike fires.
E-bikes and e-scooters are the capital’s fastest-growing fire trend. So far this year, London Fire Brigade has attended 142 e-bike fires along with 28 blazes involving e-scooters. This is 47% more than the whole of 2022, which was also a record-breaking year.
This year, three deaths and around 60 injuries have been caused by such fires.
The Brigade believes many of these fires are being caused by faulty or counterfeit products which are purchased from online marketplaces. This includes chargers, batteries and conversion kits for e-bikes and e-scooters.
Ahead of Black Friday (24 November) and Cyber Monday (27 November), the Brigade is concerned that consumers will be enticed by cheap deals, opening the risk of more dangerous and unregulated products bought online ending up in people’s homes and on our streets.
Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Charlie Pugsley, said: “E-bikes and e-scooters are a significant fire risk and we’ve had more fires involving these vehicles in 2023 than any other year.
“They have destroyed homes and families have sadly lost loved ones in these fires.”
The Brigade is urging people to buy their e-bike or e-scooter, as well as the batteries, chargers, or conversion kits, from a reputable seller.
Hayley O’Keefe and her family are still recovering after an e-bike caught fire at their home in Tulse Hill in August. The e-bike had been purchased second-hand from an online marketplace.
Hayley said: “Unless you know you’re buying from a verified or reputable seller and you can be sure it’s been put together properly, then it’s just not worth the risk.”
The Brigade believes that product innovation as seen in e-scooters and e-bikes has come ahead of proper safety standards.
In a response to a consultation last month, the Brigade called for the Office for Product Safety and Standards to undertake urgent research into conversion kits for e-bikes to understand the safety of the product, and whether any specific standards need to be introduced.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineBlack Friday: Fire Brigade issues warning as e-bike fires up by almost 50%
Short HeadlineFire Brigade issues Black Friday e-bike safety warning
StandfirstThe brigade warns that "if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is", following a record-breaking year of e-bike fires.
Firefighters in London are urging people to think twice before picking up a bargain this Black Friday, following a record-breaking year of e-bike fires.
E-bikes and e-scooters are the capital’s fastest-growing fire trend. So far this year, London Fire Brigade has attended 142 e-bike fires along with 28 blazes involving e-scooters. This is 47% more than the whole of 2022, which was also a record-breaking year.
This year, three deaths and around 60 injuries have been caused by such fires.
The Brigade believes many of these fires are being caused by faulty or counterfeit products which are purchased from online marketplaces. This includes chargers, batteries and conversion kits for e-bikes and e-scooters.
Ahead of Black Friday (24 November) and Cyber Monday (27 November), the Brigade is concerned that consumers will be enticed by cheap deals, opening the risk of more dangerous and unregulated products bought online ending up in people’s homes and on our streets.
Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Charlie Pugsley, said: “E-bikes and e-scooters are a significant fire risk and we’ve had more fires involving these vehicles in 2023 than any other year.
“They have destroyed homes and families have sadly lost loved ones in these fires.”
The Brigade is urging people to buy their e-bike or e-scooter, as well as the batteries, chargers, or conversion kits, from a reputable seller.
Hayley O’Keefe and her family are still recovering after an e-bike caught fire at their home in Tulse Hill in August. The e-bike had been purchased second-hand from an online marketplace.
Hayley said: “Unless you know you’re buying from a verified or reputable seller and you can be sure it’s been put together properly, then it’s just not worth the risk.”
The Brigade believes that product innovation as seen in e-scooters and e-bikes has come ahead of proper safety standards.
In a response to a consultation last month, the Brigade called for the Office for Product Safety and Standards to undertake urgent research into conversion kits for e-bikes to understand the safety of the product, and whether any specific standards need to be introduced.
