A coroner has called for greater public awareness of the “life-threatening” risks of storing electronic bikes and scooters in the home after an eight-year-old boy died following a house fire caused by an e-bike.
Luke Albiston O’Donnell died in hospital from hypoxia – low levels of oxygen in the body – and carbon monoxide poisoning after an e-bike on charge in the front room of his house in Merseyside caught fire in the early hours of August 4, an inquest concluded.
The blaze was sparked by the ignition of the bike’s lithium battery. Fires involving these batteries, which are also used for e-scooters, can spread rapidly and produce a toxic vapour.
The general public do not appreciate the life-threatening risks involved with having lithium iron batteries, from electronic bikes in this case, stored in domestic properties
Thirteen people died from fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in 2022 and 2023, according to figures published in August by the Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).
The area coroner for Liverpool and the Wirral, Anita Bhardwaj, has sent a preventing future deaths (PFD) report to the OPSS, the National Fire Chiefs Council and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service highlighting concerns that the public need to be better informed about the dangers of storing e-bikes and e-scooters at home.
It is the fourth PFD report to be issued to the OPSS over e-bike fires since August last year.
Ms Bhardwaj said: “The general public do not appreciate the life-threatening risks involved with having lithium iron batteries, from electronic bikes in this case, stored in domestic properties.
“There appears to be a lack of communication/media coverage about the dangers involved with storing appliances such as electronic bikes/scooters in domestic properties.
“There have already been three deaths associated with lithium batteries in the home in Merseyside and we have been informed there were a number of similar fatalities across England.”
The coroner believes there is a risk that more deaths could occur unless action is taken.
Recipients must respond by February 3 next year.
In June, a coroner called for Government action in a PFD report after the death of a man whose home in Bristol caught fire when an e-bike battery pack he was charging overheated and ignited.
Maria Voisin, senior coroner for Avon, issued the plea after presiding over an inquest into the death of Abdul Oryakhel who fell from the window of his 16th floor flat while trying to escape the blaze.
Also in June, grieving father Scott Peden, 30, from Cambridge, called for urgent e-bike safety measures one year after his partner and two children died in a fire.
Mr Peden lost his partner Gemma, 31, and their children Lilly, eight, and Oliver, four, during a fire caused by an e-bike battery bought online.
Two other PFD reports were submitted to the Government highlighting an “existing, ongoing and future risk of further deaths” if there continue to be no, or insufficient, controls or standards governing the sale of lithium-ion batteries and chargers for e-bikes and e-scooters in the UK.
In January, coroner Ian Potter issued the warning in the wake of an inquest into the death of 74-year-old Bobby Lee who died in his north London home in July last year from severe burn injuries and smoke inhalation in a fire caused by the over-charging of a lithium-ion e-bike battery.
And coroner Adam Smith sent his report in August last year after the inquest into the death of 41-year-old Mizanur Rahman who died in March 2023 at the Royal London Hospital from the effects of smoke inhalation during a fire at his home caused by a faulty lithium ion e-bike battery which was charging at the time.
The latest warning from Ms Bhardwaj comes after the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) urged consumers in October to avoid buying e-bikes and e-scooters from rogue online sellers because of the risk of deadly fires.
The DBT said faulty parts have resulted in hundreds of incidents across the UK where the electric mobility devices have caught fire, some of which have resulted in deaths.
Action to prevent similar tragic incidents occurring in future has never been more urgent
London Fire Brigade said it attended 143 e-bike fires and 36 e-scooter blazes last year, causing a total of three deaths and leaving around 60 people injured.
The DBT launched a campaign calling on the public to buy only safe products from reputable sellers, only replace parts with products recommended by the manufacturer, and seek professional help when converting or repairing e-bikes or e-scooters.
A spokesperson for charity Electrical Safety First said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of yet another life lost to a fire linked to a lithium-ion battery. Action to prevent similar tragic incidents occurring in future has never been more urgent.
“We continue to call for urgent new safety laws to ensure we do everything we can to reduce the risk of these fires occurring in homes across the country.
“We continue to call for a variety of measures to tackle this complex issue, including mandatory third-party certification for e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries, strict rules to tackle unsafe and substandard versions of these products often sold via online marketplaces, and new safety standards for both charging systems and conversion kits.
“Whilst we are encouraged by the Government’s introduction of the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, it is imperative that the Bill effectively addresses this growing risk to prevent further loss of life.”
