E-bikes: 40% of fires from conversion kits - brigade says

Explosive fires caused by cheap, badly built chargers and batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters, are ripping through London's homes every two days. Toxic gas is pumped into the air putting lives at risk. Now, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has revealed that almost 40% of e-bike fires are caused by conversion kits. BBC London takes a look at the issue.

"At the moment it is still a bit of a wild west," e-bike conversion expert Gez Medinger said.

"Factory e-bikes are regulated, but the conversion kits are not."

E-bikes and scooters are becoming an increasingly familiar sight in the capital. But a cheap, poorly made or damaged battery, or using the wrong charger can lead to fierce fires that can destroy a room in minutes, experts have warned.

This year there have been three deaths in London from battery fires.

Mr Medinger, who has converted more than 70 bicycles into e-bikes at his company in Willesden Green, north-west London, is calling on those using conversion kits to use high-quality, branded lithium-ion batteries.

"The real issues start when you have a charger that tries to put 48 volts into a battery that's only rated for 36 volts - and this is a huge safety concern," he said.

"I would really encourage the government to look at the industry and try and bring in some regulation that can improve safety for everyone," he added.

It comes as the LFB recorded 93 e-bike and 18 e-scooter fires this year - averaging one every two days.

The brigade's Assistant Commissioner Charlie Pugsley said it was the "fastest growing fire trend" in London.

"It's approaching about 40% of fires have been down to conversion kits," he said.

"If you don't have it fitted safely, then it's not a safe product - and particularly if you don't use the right charger for it."

Current government requirements stipulate electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) must show the power output, the battery's voltage and have a maximum power output of 250 watts.

But there are no specific regulations for conversion kits.

On Wednesday, Electrical Safety First revealed that 43% of e-bike and e-scooter owners surveyed in the UK use an after-market charger, one bought separately after buying the scooter or bike.

It builds on the charity's investigation last year which found that chargers with no fuse, that failed to meet UK safety standards, were being sold online.

Unless there's a change in the regulations there is concern more people could die from these kinds of fires.

On New Years Day, Sofia Duarte was killed when an e-bike conversion in her home on Old Kent Road in Southwark burst into flames.

Investigators found that the bike's battery pack had failed, causing the fire.

She was the first person to be killed in an e-bike fire in London.

Family friend Alda Simoes, 45, said: "We didn't know that e-bikes could cause a fire until Sofia's death.

"They should be completely banned."

Scott Angus, from south-west London, said he and his partner were "lucky to have escaped with our lives" after their neighbour's e-bike burst into flames last year in their communal hallway.

"Our main way out was blocked," the 32-year-old said. "All I could see was a wall of thick black smoke."

They both jumped out of the second-floor window with their dog and Mr Angus' partner injured her back.

"When we got down, all I could see was chaos," he added. "The front door to the building had been blasted off. The fire brigade were trying to put the fire out and I could see lots of individual batteries all over the floor. They looked like shotgun cartridges."

"Once these fires start it can be really hard to stop them," Asst Comm Charlie Pugsley said.

"It's almost like having a pool of petrol, it's that quick, that intense. It also produces a vapour cloud that can be explosive and toxic."

He added that the LFB is concerned about counterfeit products being sold online that could put Londoners at risk in their homes.

"We do strongly believe that there needs to be a suitable level of surveillance and enforcement," he said.

"If people are selling unsafe products we need to make sure they're taken off the market."

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "We are consulting on modernising our product safety framework to hold online marketplaces to account, ensuring items sold online meet the same standards as on the high street.

"If businesses don't comply with product safety regulations, the Office for Product Safety and Standards will take appropriate enforcement action such as ordering the removal of the product from the market."

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