Warning from Coroner: Storing E-bikes at Home Poses Risk After Tragic Death of 8-Year-Old Boy in Fire
According to figures published by the Office of Product Safety and Standards, 13 people died from fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in 2022 and 2023.
A coroner has issued a warning over the risks of charging e-bikes at home after an eight-year-old boy died following a house fire caused by one of the devices.
An inquest concluded that Luke Albiston O’Donnell died in hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning and hypoxia—low levels of oxygen in the body—after an e-bike which had been left on charge in the front room of his house in Merseyside had caught fire in the early hours of Aug. 4, 2024.
Area coroner for Liverpool and the Wirral Anita Bhardwaj said on Wednesday that 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 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,” she said, warning there is a risk that more deaths could occur unless action is taken.
The coroner sent a preventing future deaths (PDF) report to the Office of Product Safety and Standard (OPSS), the National Fire Chiefs Council, and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service which outlines her concerns over public awareness of the dangers of storing these devices.
It is the fourth PFD report to be sent to the OPSS over e-bike fires since August 2022.
Lithium Batteries
The inquest into Luke’s death had concluded that the fire was sparked by the ignition of the e-bike’s lithium battery.
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E-scooters and e-bikes are powered by various types of battery, but the most popular are lithium-ion because they have a long lifespan and are lightweight.
However, if they overheat and catch fire, the blaze can spread quickly and produce a toxic odour.
Field said: “These type of fires produce toxic, flammable gases that are often hard to extinguish. When these batteries and these chargers fail, they do so with ferocity. These fires quite often develop very quickly.”
According to figures published by the OPSS in August, 13 people died from fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in 2022 and 2023.
Batteries Bought Online
Coroners, campaigners, and victims of e-bike fires, including Scott Peden, have called for the government to put in place safety measures.
Responding to the coroner’s findings, a DBT spokesperson said: “We were sorry to hear of Luke’s death and our thoughts are with his family.
“We take the risk of e-scooter and e-bike fires very seriously, and are clear that the public should too. That is why we launched our ‘Buy Safe, Be Safe’ campaign earlier this year to raise awareness.”
New Guidance
The spokesperson added: “We are also introducing new laws to ensure online sellers only sell safe products, as well as taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe or non-compliant products from reaching consumers.”
The guidelines mandate that lithium-ion batteries for these devices contain a safety mechanism to address the risk of sparking serious fires or explosions.
It applies to all lithium-ion batteries for e-bikes, including ones bought online or those sold as part of a conversion kit.
The OPSS said it has already acted to remove unsafe batteries from the market, including blocking two models manufactured in China and linked to incidents in the UK.
PA Media contributed to this report.
