![\"Pic:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/skynews-london-fire-fire_7212839.jpg\")
<\/p>\nE-bike and e-scooter fires reached a record high last year, new figures suggest.<\/p>\n
There were 432 blazes involving e-bikes during 2025 – a 38% jump compared with a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 147 e-scooter fires were reported, up 20% from the 123 seen in 2024.<\/p>\n
These incidents are often caused by failing batteries, conversion kits and chargers.<\/p>\n
Products bought from online marketplaces are at a greater risk of malfunctioning, because they aren’t subject to the same regulation as established retailers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Image:
\n Pic: PA<\/p>\n
Nick Bailey from BatteryIQ said the e-scooters and e-bikes involved in fires are “always cut-price products” manufactured with lax quality control.<\/p>\n
He added: “There’s also a growing black market in DIY and counterfeit batteries, particularly for delivery riders, built using battery cells reclaimed from disposable vapes.<\/p>\n
“I wouldn’t keep a battery in my home without continuous monitoring – regardless of what the manufacturer’s sticker says.”<\/p>\n
The PA news agency sent Freedom of Information requests to all 49 fire brigades in the UK and asked for the number of incidents recorded between 2021 and 2025.<\/p>\n
London Fire Brigade recorded the greatest number of fires by far, with Greater Manchester and Nottinghamshire identified as hotspots outside of the capital.<\/p>\n
![\"Pic:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/skynews-e-bike-fire_7212837.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Image:
\n Pic: London Fire Brigade<\/p>\n
Fires involving lithium batteries used for e-bikes and e-scooters can spread rapidly and produce a toxic vapour.<\/p>\n
Electrical Safety First has warned this issue is “swiftly becoming a runaway train that needs to be stopped” – with incidents surging over the past five years.<\/p>\n
The charity’s chief executive, Lesley Rudd, warned: “Poorly made batteries and accessories are of huge concern, and are a major route through which dangerous devices are entering people’s homes.<\/p>\n
“Without strong and enforceable changes, lives are at serious risk and further loss of life is, sadly, inevitable.”<\/p>\n
The London Fire Brigade’s deputy commissioner, Spencer Sutcliff, has said he is “extremely concerned” about the “worrying amount” of cases in the capital.<\/p>\n
E-scooters and e-bikes have now been banned from the Tube because of the fire risk they pose.<\/p>\n
![\"Pic:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/skynews-fire-e-bike_7212840.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Image:
\n Pic: London Fire Brigade<\/p>\n
Although private e-scooters have been banned from being used in public areas nationwide, they are often ridden illegally in many urban areas.<\/p>\n
Which? has warned unsafe products are “increasingly saturating” online marketplaces, which undercut responsible businesses that comply with the law.<\/p>\n
The government launched a consultation last week that is designed to boost product safety in the UK.<\/p>\n
Under the plans, online marketplaces would be legally required to “prevent, identify and remove dangerous products being sold via their platforms”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"E-bike and e-scooter fires reached a record high last year, new figures suggest. There were 432 blazes involving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-385791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}