A dad who died in a house fire caused by an e-bike left charging overnight has been named locally.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) were called to Daisy Mews, Litherland, at 3am on Sunday, January 8. Upon arrival, firefighters found two people inside the house.
Fire crews and North West Ambulance Service paramedics performed CPR on the occupants. One person found inside the house died at the scene and has been named locally as Rab Shearer. Rab's son Gary is currently in a "critical" condition while his other son, Andrew, has been left with "nothing" following the blaze.
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A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family by neighbour Natalie Kiernan, and she described the fire as an "awful tragedy". She said: "Ray, Gary and Andrew need our support more now than ever. We as a community would like to raise as much as we can to give to this family at there time in need, so if you can donate anything we would be forever grateful, keep fighting Gary you got this."
A spokesperson for MFRS said a further person managed to escape the property and raise the alarm. They were woken by smoke alarms before being taken to hospital suffering from severe smoke inhalation. A joint investigation between MFRS and Merseyside Police revealed the fire was accidental and caused by an e-bike left charging overnight.
The fire rapidly took hold and spread quickly through open internal doors.
Area Manager Mark Thomas said: “This is a devastating incident and our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of those involved. We are also mindful of the impact that the incident will have on the local community at this time and we will be on hand to offer our support in the coming days.
"I would like also to commend the efforts of our fire control staff who offered help to callers, our fire crews who attempted rescues, also working with NWAS who combined made every effort to provide emergency resuscitation for the casualties. This tragedy highlights the very real risks posed by e-bikes, which we have confirmed as the source of the fire.
"We would ask that people don’t leave any electrical appliance – particularly e-bikes and scooters - charging unattended and definitely not while you are asleep when we are all at our most vulnerable. Also consider if you are leaving the bike or scooter in the way of your escape route should you need to evacuate in darkness.
"I would also urge people to follow the manufacturer’s instructions, only using batteries and chargers which have been supplied with the vehicle or approved by the manufacturer. Make a bedtime routine ensuring all internal doors are closed as this will slow the progress of a fire if one should happen.
"In this incident the resident who raised the alarm was able to do so as smoke alarms had alerted them- please ensure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home and check them regularly.”
To donate to the GoFundMe page, please click here.
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