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Safety warning over buying e-bikes and e-scooters

BBC A woman wearing a brown headscarf smiles as she talks to two LFB firefighters in uniform next to a red and yellow striped fire engine. The entrance to Stratford Station can be seen in the backgroundBBC
London Fire Brigade held an event at Westfield Stratford encouraging people to buy e-bikes, e-scooters, batteries and chargers from reputable sellers

People considering buying an e-bike or e-scooter during Black Friday sales are being warned about the risk of fires.

Crews from London Fire Brigade (LFB) were at Westfield Stratford shopping centre in east London to inform potential buyers that some chargers or conversion kits may not meet safety standards and could cause fires.

The event was part of LFB's ChargeSafe campaign, which advised members of the public to charge and store their e-bikes and e-scooters safely.

"We just want to encourage people to buy their scooters and and their e-bikes from a reputable shop," said Mark Richardson, sub-officer at Stratford Fire Station.

"They're great, but they need to be bought safely to keep them safe once they've got them to use."

The warning comes weeks after the government launched its own Buy Safe, Be Safe campaign, which urged the public to buy safe e-bikes and e-scooters and avoid what it called "rogue online sellers".

LFB said it had attended 124 fires caused by e-bikes and 24 caused by e-scooters in London so far this year, and in 2023 the brigade attended a fire involving an e-bike or e-scooter in the capital every two days.

Mr Richardson said: "It's a massively growing industry so people are trying to make money out of it, so they're advertising these things that are not safe, are not meeting the high standards that other reputable high street shops are having to meet and therefore they're going wrong more often."

He said fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters often developed "really quickly", making it challenging for the brigade.

"People are charging these things indoors, often in the hallway... and because this is creating a fire hazard it means that the people that are inside the property are struggling to get out," he added.

"If they're struggling to get out, it's equally difficult for us to get in... to help them."

Mark Richardson, a man wearing brown and yellow LFB uniform, looking at the reporter who is out of shot. A fire engine can be seen in the background
Mark Richardson, sub-officer at Stratford Fire Station, urged people to ensure all of their escape routes were clear

Graham Beers, station commander at Stratford Fire Station, said the brigade advised people to charge the devices outside their properties.

"If you are charging indoors ensure that you're using the correct charger for that product, so don't go and get a secondhand one," he said.

"Never be charging that product unattended or while you're sleeping.

"If you do see a problem with your battery, isolate the power leave the prop and dial 999.

"Ensure that all your escape routes are clear so if there is an issue and you do need to leave the property quickly you can."

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