‘E-bike fire’ in Bethnal Green triggers safety concerns
Eleven people are in hospital after a block of flats went up in flames from a suspected e-bike fire.
Eleven people are in hospital after a flat block in Bethnal Green went up in flames from a suspected e-bike fire on 9 April, raising questions about the safety of e-bikes.
The fire in Bethnal Green on Wednesday night came shortly after Transport for London (TfL) announced a ban on all non-folding e-bikes on the Tube.
Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said on the fire: “Our thoughts are with the residents affected by last night’s fire at Bradbeer House in Bethnal Green.
‘I am extremely grateful to the London Fire Brigade for their swift response, and to our Emergency Response Team for supporting residents with rest centres and emergency accommodation. Thank you to the councillors, Council officers, members of my team and many in our community who volunteered their support overnight, including Darul Hadis Latifiah school which kindly opened up facilities to host residents.’
On the suspected source of the fire, Rahman said: ‘While the cause of the fire is not yet confirmed, e-bikes and e-scooters are London’s fastest-growing fire risk. If you use one, I implore you to follow this #ChargeSafe guidance to keep yourself and our community safe.’
Increasingly popular with Londoners, e-bikes now fill the capital’s streets – and pavements – and have quickly become one of the city’s regular sights and sounds.
But they have also for some time been one of the capital’s fastest-growing fire risks. In 2024, the London Fire Brigade recorded 142 fires involving e-bikes, along with 29 e-scooters. On average, there was an e-bike or e-scooter fire once every other day.
The previous year, three people died in fires caused by e-bike battery failures in London and more than 100 people were hurt by them.
The transport authority had faced pressure from the Aslef train drivers’ union, who warned there was “no justification for continuing to put staff and passengers at risk by continuing to allow potentially explosive devices on London Underground trains”. The union had threatened strike action over the issue, after an e-bike exploded on a platform at Rayners Lane station.
Not all e-bikes are created equal. Some of the most dangerous, in terms of fire risk, are often ordinary bikes which have been adapted using cheap, badly-designed ‘conversion kits’.
These kits are typically used by gig economy workers, such as food delivery riders, looking for a cost-effective way to boost the number of deliveries they can complete in a day. After working a long, tiring shift and returning to their home – usually a shared house or bedsit – they may then leave their e-bike charging overnight.
If the bike’s lithium-ion battery pack overheats, it can explode and can “compromise a good-sized double bedroom in 10-15 seconds”, the LFB’s former deputy commissioner Dom Ellis told the London Assembly in 2023.
Through their #ChargeSafe campaign, the Brigade have been working to share safety tips and advice to e-bike users, including warnings that batteries should never be left charging while the owner is asleep, and that escape routes must be kept clear.
The LFB also warns that a battery “bulging or swelling out of shape is a common sign of it failing” and the same applies “if you notice a strong or unusual smell coming from the battery”.
To crack down on the issue at its source, however, Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has urged the new Government to place tighter regulations on the sale of e-bikes and electric conversion kits – something ministers are looking to do through the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill.
The Bill started in the House of Lords and will next make its way through the committee stage in the House of Commons, meaning it is close to passing into law.
In the meantime, e-bike owners can reduce the risk to themselves by visiting the LFB’s #ChargeSafe campaign page.
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