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E- bike fire in Wapping

Lithium-ion Battery Fires Are Never Far from the Headlines

We’ve read the recently released Coroner’s report into the death of 74 year old Bobby Lee in a Li-ion battery fire. MrLee is the third Londoner to lose their life in a Li-ion battery fire this year. So, it’s time once again to remind everyone on the “Do’s and Don’ts”.

But first, this case demonstrates the typical “domino rally” of events leading up to any incident;

- A regular bike with an e-bike conversion was bought second hand, with no provenance of the conversion kit and no charger.

- The battery had no integrated charger management system, to automatically stop or control over-charging.

- A charger was bought from an on-line marketplace.

- The charger was “CE” marked, but not in the required text and not genuine. It was used to denote “Chinese Export”!

- Charger and battery were not compatible with different voltage ratings.

- The battery was over-charged, resulting in the fire.

- The family were unable to evacuate Mr Lee from the building.

 

examining the e-bike battery pack, after the fire. Photo courtesy of London Fire Brigade


As there are no current standards (e.g. British or European Standards) in place for E-bike conversion kits and chargers.

 

FIRE PREVENTION; the simple adviceis;

  • to check that all equipment powered by theLi-ion batter is indeed CE or UKCE marked.
  • to use genuine, “Original EquipmentManufacturer’s” (“OEM”) chargers for any Li-ion batteries
  • for workplaces, consider providing charging pointsin a suitably segregated location/fire compartment, away from other flammable materials, or in fire-resistant cabinets.
  • never charge ANY devices in your escape route, at home or at work.
  • E-bikes should be kept and charged outside; we know they’re a valuable asset (at risk of theft), but so are our homes and workplaces.
  • to avoid charging overnight
  • periodically check the battery condition of batteries for damage, heat and swelling, modifications, etc.
  • FIRE MITIGATION; Li-ion fires are “runaway” chain reactions, the reaction creates more oxygen from the components, further fuelling the fire. Fighting a Li-ion based fire will be difficult if not impossible. Special Li-ion Fire Extinguishers (“lith-ex”) are becoming more commonly available, but there is no standard for these. A search for training on how to use them has yielded little, so we’re reserving judgement for now.

A great, if rather lengthy risk management guide for e-Bikeshas been published here by Aviva, but there is a sufficient checklist to go alongside it here.