The fires ranged in their severity with the most serious sadly resulting in deaths, injury and destructive damage to homes. In 2025, two people sadly lost their lives, taking the total number of fatalities in London from these types of fires to five since 2023.
These stark figures demonstrate that urgent action is still needed to help prevent these fires and further tragedies. In total, firefighters attended 206 e-bike and e-scooter fires in 2025, an average of 17 fires a month. Around 83% of these fires involved an e-bike (171 fires.) The highest number of fires were recorded in the boroughs of Lewisham (16), Southwark (16) and Tower Hamlets (15).
LFB's investigations shows that lithium-ion battery failure, conversion kits and chargers are often the cause of these fires – and that items purchased online, which don’t meet UK safety standards, whether bought new or second-hand, are particularly prone to going up in flames. The lithium-ion batteries that power e-bikes and e-scooters can fail for a number of reasons, including if they have been built poorly, are counterfeit, become damaged, are overcharged or used with an incorrect charger.
In a bid to tackle this growing problem, the Government introduced the Product Regulation & Metrology (PRAM) Act, which received Royal Assent in summer 2025. In December 2025, London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner, Spencer Sutcliff, wrote to the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection, Kate Dearden MP, urging the Government to bring forward its consultation for the secondary legislation of the Act as soon as possible.
Following his letter, Spencer Sutcliff, Deputy Commissioner and Operational Director for Prevention, Protection and Policy, said, “Firefighters are currently attending an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day, on average. Already in 2026, we have seen several fires involving lithium-ion batteries. These fires can be explosive and have devastating consequences. We’ve been calling for regulation to improve product safety and are thankful for the work already done by the Government to help tackle this issue. We look forward to working with the Government on its consultation for secondary legislation, when it is introduced, to help tackle this issue head-on. We hope this is done as soon as possible to reduce the number of customers being exposed to dangerous products available for purchase online, and ultimately drive down the number of fires.”
Tragically, each of the five people who have died in fires in London did not own the e-bike involved. This demonstrates the devastating effect these fires can have on those who live with an e-bike or e-scooter user, as well as to their homes and livelihoods.
Deputy Commissioner Sutcliff said, “We understand the importance of of green and sustainable modes of transport and recognise the positive impact of e-bikes and e-scooters. However, poorly built, non-compliant or damaged lithium batteries in these products, as well as the use of mismatched batteries and chargers, present unique fire safety challenges. It is clear from the number of fires we’re seeing that not everyone is aware of the very real risks that exist. We’ve been running our #ChargeSafe awareness campaign for nearly three years but the latest data shows this work is becoming more important than ever. We need the continued support of the Government, partners and other relevant organisations to ensure the safety advice is reaching as many people as possible and that dangerous products are no longer readily available to purchase online.”
Assurity Consulting are leading experts in workplace health, safety and environmental compliance. For more information on our services, and how we can help you, please contact us on tel. +44 (0)1403 269375 or email us.
