Nickie Aiken, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster, joined the London Fire Brigade for their #ChargeSafe campaign to stop e-bike and e-scooter fires.
The batteries in e-bikes and e-scooters are lithium batteries, presenting unique fire safety challenges.
If the batteries become damaged or begin to fail, within seconds they can start incredibly ferocious fires that can spread quickly out of control. Sadly, we have seen several fires across London as a result of lithium batteries and during Nickie's regular meetings, she knows many local people have concerns here in the Two Cities.
We can take steps and Charge Safe, such as:
- Never leaving your device charging unattended or when you’re asleep.
- Only ever using the correct charger for the battery
- Never blocking your escape routes with your e-bike or e-scooter or charge them in escape routes.
- Ensuring you have a working smoke alarm in your home and that it covers where you charge your e-bike or e-scooter.
Further steps are available here.
London Fire Brigade’s Home Fire Safety Checker service is also a great way to have a thorough check of your home in only a few minutes. It’s simple, practical and gives specific advice.
Nickie knows there is more we can do. Over the coming weeks and months, she will continue to make the case with the Government for action so that we better understand the risks and can then look at specific standards or if regulation is needed.
If you have an e-bike or e-scooter story, please get in touch.
