Boy 'saved siblings' before death in e-bike fire

A boy who died in a fire caused by a faulty lithium e-bike battery "saved his siblings" by alerting them the device was making strange noises.

Luke Albiston-O'Donnell, 8, was unable to escape his home in Birkenhead, Wirral, in the early hours of 4 August this year, in part due to a leg injury.

But Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) said his warning may have saved his two brothers and sister, who were able to climb out of an upstairs window at their home in Keele Close.

The service has issued an urgent warning to anyone with an electric bike or scooter which uses lithium-ion batteries.

Area manager Mark Thomas, head of prevention at MFRS, told the BBC the batteries can be extremely dangerous if they are faulty.

"These batteries - when they do fail - very sadly, have almost an explosive effect," he said.

"They're very powerful," he cautioned, "which means when it became involved in a fire - when it became heated - it discharged its contents very quickly."

Mr Thomas said Luke, who was sleeping downstairs due to his leg injury, was awoken by the sound of the battery going wrong, and alerted his adult brother upstairs.

But due to the sudden ferocity of the fire, and his reduced mobility, he was unable to escape the house in time.

"Heroically, he was able to make sure they [his siblings] were able to make their own escape out of the first-floor window", Mr Thomas said.

"Very sadly, Luke wasn't in the same predicament - he was unable to make an escape."

Mr Thomas said during the investigation phase his officers had worked closely with Luke's "loving, close-knit" family and had witnessed their "absolute devastation".

Since the start of 2022, there have been 57 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in Merseyside, the fire service said, about half of which were in a residential property.

Of those fires, more than 70% happened overnight.

• Why are modified e-bikes causing house fires?

MFRS urged owners never to charge e-bikes and e-scooters overnight, and said they should be charged outdoors if possible.

Mr Thomas said incompatible e-bike and e-scooter chargers also increased the risk of fire, as these can push too much voltage into the battery.

He said anyone needing to replace a charger should only use ones compatible with the make and model of the device containing the battery.

An inquest held into Luke's death at Gerard Majella courthouse in Liverpool on Wednesday, concluded his death was accidental.

However, Mr Thomas said area coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, Anita Bhardwaj, had indicated she intends to issue a prevention of future deaths report on e-battery safety.

Mr Thomas said he hoped Luke's death would "start a conversation" about whether legislation needs to be tightened around lithium battery products.

Describing Luke's death as "the most tragic of incidents", he added: "If there's something that we can take from it, it's any learning that we can share and can make things better."

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