London Fire Brigade data show 165 fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in 2025 up to 28 September, averaging around 18 incidents a month. If the current trend continues, London could exceed 200 such incidents in a year for the first time.

Eden Abera Siem, 30, died in hospital after a fire at her home on Lordship Lane, Wood Green, on 21 June; investigators believe the blaze was probably caused by a failing charging battery on an e-bike. It was the fourth fatal e-bike fire in the capital, and in all four cases the victim did not own or use the bike involved.

Pamela Oparaocha, LFB assistant commissioner for prevention and protection, said: “We continue to see the devastating consequences of e-bike and e-scooter fires in London. Our thoughts are with the family of Eden as well as all those who have been impacted by fires in recent years. Fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters are worryingly common in London. Since the beginning of 2023, we have attended a fire, on average, every other day, and some of these fires have destroyed homes and claimed lives.” Fires involving lithium batteries – used in these devices – can spread rapidly and emit toxic vapour. Products such as batteries, chargers and e-bike conversion kits bought from online marketplaces are at greater risk of malfunctioning because they have not been subjected to the same level of regulation as high street shops, the LFB said. The brigade said gig economy companies should do more to raise awareness about fire risks from e-bikes and will write to delivery platforms Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo this week to ask them to share safety guidance with their riders.

In October last year, the Department for Business and Trade launched a campaign calling on people to buy only safe electrical products from reputable sellers. Lesley Rudd, chief executive of charity Electrical Safety First, said: “We urge the Government to be brave and bold when considering what regulations they will introduce to tackle these fires, and continue to advocate for the introduction of third-party certification for e-bike batteries to ensure they are safe before they can be sold on the UK market. Strict new safety standards for conversion kits that turn push bikes into e-bikes must also be urgently introduced, alongside tough new laws to clamp down on online marketplace giants whose platforms commonly host the sale of substandard goods.”