The government has warned e-bike users to stop using incompatible chargers after a coroner found a man was killed after a battery plugged in with the wrong device caught fire.
Fire England, which is part of the Home Office, has issued new instructions to consumers to use only manufacturer-approved batteries and chargers after the death in March of Mizanur Rahman in east London. The 41-year-old died after a fire in an overcrowded flat occupied by several food couriers using e-bikes.
But ministers are facing further pressure to ban certain types of chargers and batteries that are freely available online, often imported from China and frequently used by food couriers to modify bikes to extend range and speed. Fire safety campaigners have uncovered potentially dangerous chargers for sale on eBay, Amazon and Wish.com.
Adam Smith, the coroner for inquest into Rahman’s death, said last week that London Fire Brigade investigators evidence suggested a battery had very probably been plugged into a charger with a different voltage rating and combusted, leading to “thermal runaway and catastrophic failure of the lithium ion battery”.
Rahman was trapped in the council block in Shadwell and died in hospital four days later.
Combusting and exploding e-bike batteries have caused hundreds of fires. At least 12 have died and a further 190 injured in suspected e-bike and e-scooter blazes in the UK since 2020. Smith said there had been nine deaths in approximately the last year and called for urgent action from the government.
In a regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths issued to the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), he said: “It is clear that there is an existing, ongoing and future risk of further deaths whilst it continues to be the case that there are no controls or standards governing the sale in the UK of lithium ion batteries and chargers (and conversion kits) for electric powered personal vehicles.
“In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent further deaths and I believe that you have the power to take such action.”
Government sources said a safety study was underway and WMG, which is part of the University of Warwick, had been contracted to research e-bike batteries before any new regulations were introduced.
“We’ve received the coroner’s report on this incident and are carefully considering his recommendations,” said a spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade, adding: “[OPSS] is also continuing their work to address the issue of fires associated with e-scooters and e-bikes and protect people from harm.”
Lesley Rudd, the chief executive of the consumer protection charity Electrical Safety First, said: “It’s vital people use the charger that came with their e-bike … If an e-bike battery goes off, the fire is uniquely explosive and potentially deadly. Always go back to the manufacturer or original retailer if you need to replace a charger or battery. It is not worth the risk.”
