Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) in Liverpool, England, confirmed one man died and another person was injured after an e-bike caught fire while on charge and set fire to a house.
MFRS said in a statement that fire crews were called to a serious fire in Litherland near Liverpool in the early hours of Sunday. A joint investigation between MFRS and Merseyside Police revealed that the fire was accidental and caused by an e-bike left charging overnight. The fire had rapidly taken hold and spread quickly through open internal doors, it said.
On arrival at the two-storey semi-detached house eight minutes after the alarm was raised, fire crews found the ground floor fully ablaze.
Area Manager Mark Thomas said: “This tragedy highlights the very real risks posed by e-bikes, which we have confirmed as the source of the fire. We would ask that people don’t leave any electrical appliance – particularly e-bikes and scooters – charging unattended and definitely not while you are asleep when we are all at our most vulnerable…I would also urge people to follow the manufacturer’s instructions, only using batteries and chargers which have been supplied with the vehicle or approved by the manufacturer.”
Paul Christensen, Director of Lithiumionsafety and Professor of Pure and Applied Electrochemistry at Newcastle University, said on his LinkedIn page: “Again – entirely preventable if only our government would choose to educate the citizens it is supposed to protect as its highest priority. Ebikes are banned from the Palace of Westminster, from the London Underground, the Tyneside Metro and ferry, Avanti trains. I despair.”
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