Fires involving e-bikes have risen by more than half compared with the same period last year, according to preliminary London Fire Brigade (LFB) data.
If the current trend continues, 2025 will see the highest number of e-bike fires in London since records began in 2017, following a 60% year on year rise.
Just last month, eight fire engines and 60 firefighters responded to a flat fire in Bethnal Green thought to be caused by either an e-bike or e-scooter battery, which left 11 people in hospital.
Stories like these highlight a rapidly growing trend in London.
Sofia Duarte, 21, died on New Year’s Day 2023 after a fire started in the battery of a charging e-bike in her boyfriend’s communal hallway in Southwark.
While nine other residents escaped through the building’s windows, Sofia tried to flee via the only fire exit, which was blocked by the e-bike and died from burns and smoke inhalation.
She is believed to be the first person to die from an e-bike fire.
Her friend Alda Simoes, 47, has been campaigning ever since her death but feels frustrated with the pace of progress.
Simoes lives minutes away from the Bethnal Green flat where the fire broke out in April.
She said: “ It’s horrible. It’s serious. Every time someone passes away or you hear about a fire, it’s like reliving the situation all over again.
“We are trying to make sure that nobody would go through what she went through. Her mum could not even say bye to her.”
The bike that killed Sofia was a converted e-bike, a standard bicycle that has been adapted to run on electric power using a post-sale conversion kit.
Simoes and others are campaigning for stricter control of conversion kits, which are unregulated and can be bought from online marketplaces such as Amazon for as little as £169.
Simoes said: “£300 was the one that killed Sofia. There’s almost no regulation.”
Giuseppe Capanna, Product Safety Engineer at Electrical Safety First, is pushing for a safety standard of e-bikes and e-scooters.
Capanna said: “At the moment, a manufacturer of an e-bike or e-scooter only has to self-declare that that product has been through the proper safety testing.
“ And unfortunately, on many of the investigations we’ve done, we’ve found out that that isn’t the case.”
E-bike conversion kits accounted for almost half of fires (48.4%) involving e-bikes in the UK from 2017-2023, data from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) shows.
Capanna said: “There are two problems. The first is there’s no product standard for conversion kits.
“The second problem is that these conversion kits that are being sold on online marketplaces from third party sellers are not complete.”
This means it is left to the consumer to figure out which battery and charger they need and if they get it wrong, there is a risk of overcharging the battery which can lead to thermal runaway, which leads to fires.
More than 90% of e-bike and e-scooter fires were linked to batteries or generators as the ignition source, according to OPSS data from 2023.
The same data shows that two-thirds of converted e-bikes were charging when they caught fire, compared to half of manufactured e-bikes.
Experts agree that regulation is overdue, but stress that enforcement must be strengthened to make a difference.
Capanna said: “The problem is at the moment, on online marketplaces, the repercussions are with the actual people selling the products and they may not be in the UK which makes it very difficult for enforcement authorities.”
Of all e-bike and e-scooter fires reported to the OPSS by fire and rescue services in England in 2023, 88.4% were attended by the London Fire Brigade.
London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Prevention and Protection, Richard Field, said: “E-bikes and e-scooters can pose a significant fire risk and particularly the batteries used to power them have become one of London’s fastest-growing fire risks.
“They have destroyed homes and families have sadly lost loved ones in these fires.”
The fire in April in Bethnal Green reflects a wider trend in Tower Hamlets, which accounts for nearly 10% of all e-bike fires in London since records began.
Incidents are predominantly clustered in the inner-city boroughs of east and south east London.
The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, currently in the report stage in the House of Commons and backed by Simoes, Capanna and the LFB, is expected to become law this year.
The bill would make online marketplaces, such as Amazon, accountable for the products they list on their websites.
Some campaigners worry the legislation won’t be tough enough once it becomes law.
Simoes said: “ This fight hasn’t stopped. We still carry on. There’s so much more to do.”
For safety advice on charging e-bikes and e-scooters, visit the London Fire Brigade’s guidance page here.
Featured image: London Fire Brigade
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