E-bike batteries pose 'fastest growing' fire risk

Lithium batteries contiguous the "fastest growing" hazard of fires, a Welsh occurrence and rescue work has said.

The batteries, and specifically lithium-ion batteries, are utilized to powerfulness a fig of devices including e-bikes and scooters and their chargers, mobile phones, laptops and e-vapes.

Campaigning foundation Electrical Safety First said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing done homes" and privation stricter rules to beryllium introduced astir their merchantability to trim the risk.

The UK authorities said it was updating merchandise information laws astir the batteries to assistance support radical harmless and taking enactment astatine ports and borders to halt unsafe products reaching consumers.

The informing comes aft seven radical were taken to hospital earlier this period erstwhile a location occurrence successful Cardiff was started by a lithium-ion battery-powered scooter.

"The superior hazard astir these scooters is really lithium-ion batteries and the thermal runaway that tin hap from that," Marc Davies, location information manager from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS), said.

A thermal runaway is an accelerating summation successful somesthesia caused by chemic reactions which tin pb to fire, detonation and "unpredictable occurrence behaviour", according to the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council.

According to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, determination were 136 fires involving lithium-ion batteries successful southbound Wales from April 2020 to March 2025, with 100 recorded successful the past 2 years.

Of those reported fires implicit the past 5 years:

• 30 radical were injured with 24 of these occurring successful the past 2 years
• 49 were accidental dwelling fires, with 34 of these occurring successful the past 2 years. One of these incidents led to a fatality linked to a occurrence involving a responsibility successful a artillery charger.
• Of the 136 incidents, 39 progressive an e-scooter oregon an e-bike with 25 of these incidents occurring successful the past 2 years. These led to 13 radical being injured, 10 of which occurred successful the past 2 years.
• There were 16 mishap dwelling fires successful southbound Wales which progressive an e-scooter oregon an e-bike with 10 of these occurring successful the past 2 years. These incidents led to 5 radical injured with 3 of these occurring successful the past 2 years

In mid and westbound Wales, determination were 26 incidents involving lithium batteries from 1 April 2020 to 5 May 2025. Four of these incidents progressive e-bikes portion 1 progressive an e-scooter. Out of the 26 incidents, 3 radical were injured.

In northbound Wales determination were 62 incidents from April 2022 to the extremity of February 2025. During that clip 7 fires progressive an e-bike and 4 progressive an e-scooter, starring to 9 injuries.

A spokesperson from Electrical Safety First, a foundation which aims to trim deaths and injuries caused by energy successful UK homes, said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing done homes", putting lives astatine hazard and causing "immense" harm to property.

"These fires are particularly unsafe owed to the immense magnitude of vigor that is released if a afloat charged e-scooter oregon e-bike artillery fails, triggering a process called thermal runaway which is astir intolerable to halt erstwhile it has started," they said.

The foundation is present urging the UK authorities to usage the caller merchandise regularisation and metrology measure to present stricter rules astir the merchantability of batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters to trim the hazard of a fire.

A section for concern and commercialized spokesperson said it took the hazard of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, including those linked to e-bikes and e-scooters, "very seriously".

"That's wherefore we launched our 'Buy Safe, Be Safe' run to rise consciousness of this important issue," they said.

"We are besides updating our merchandise information laws to assistance support the nationalist safe, arsenic good arsenic taking enactment astatine ports and borders to halt unsafe oregon non-compliant products from reaching consumers."

April's e-scooter blaze successful Cardiff is not the lone caller occurrence caused by an lithium-ion battery.

A twelvemonth earlier successful March 2024, SWFRS warned of the dangers that tin beryllium posed by lithium-ion batteries aft a occurrence gutted a household home successful Newbridge, Caerphilly county.

The household who lived astatine the location managed to flight unharmed, on with their 4 dogs.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Mr Davies of SWFRS said radical should bash their probe and bargain devices, batteries and chargers from reputable retailers.

Otherwise determination is simply a hazard they tin "overheat, drawback occurrence and astir pb to a firework-like explosion", helium said.

He said different hazard factors for e-scooters included deterioration and teardrop caused by kerbs, velocity bumps and h2o ingress, having due chargers and the emergence of cosmopolitan chargers.

He warned against buying counterfeit goods arsenic they bash not conscionable information standards.

"You can't spell incorrect with ensuring thing is British oregon UK standard, oregon European CE certification, and precocious thoroughfare versus online person their ain acceptable of rules," helium said.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is besides urging radical to dispose of lithium-ion batteries safely pursuing respective fires believed to person been caused by incorrectly discarded batteries.

If damaged oregon crushed, they tin merchandise flammable electrolytes, starring to aggravated fires astatine discarded sites.

Waste fires merchandise harmful gases, and the resulting hazardous fume tin airs superior risks to some humans and the environment, NRW said. Residues from burnt discarded tin besides pollute aboveground and groundwater, starring to semipermanent onshore contamination.

Nia Brunning, discarded regularisation and enforcement squad person astatine NRW, said specified fires not lone harm the situation "but besides enactment section communities and exigency services astatine risk".