Five people are rescued after they were trapped in their home by horror e-bike blaze sparked by exploding battery
- The burning e-bike was blocking the escape route from the property in Devon
Five people were rescued after an exploding e-bike battery caused a devastating house fire which trapped them.
Firefighters crews rescued the residents from a property in the village of Hartland, Devon after battery exploded while on charge in a communal area.
The explosion saw the residents trapped inside the property by the burning e-bike which was blocking the building’s escape route. All five people inside the building were saved by firefighters from four separate crews following the explosion on July 31.
Fire crews saved five people from a property in Hartland, Devon after an e-bike battery exploded while charging in a communal area
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service have now urged the public to make sure they’re safe by keeping escape routes clear and charging batteries properly.
READ MORE: The deadly e-bombs in Britain’s homes: How e-bikes and scooters carry batteries with the explosive force of SIX grenades
The explosion follows a spate of similar incidents involving lithium-ion e-bike batteries bursting into flames while charging in people’s homes.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘You may have seen there has been an increase in the number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.
‘Crews rescued five people from the building due to the escape route being blocked.’
The fire service urged people to ‘use genuine chargers’ for electrical devices as they said batteries should never be left unattended while on charge.
The Devon and Somerset fire service also suggested people should always keep escape routes clear.
E-bike battery explosions have increased sharply in recent years due to more widespread use of the vehicles.
In the first few months of 2023, the London Fire Brigade was called out to an e-bike battery explosion every two days marking a 60 increase on the same period in 2022.
The burning e-bike was blocking an escape route from the property leaving the residents trapped
The explosions have caused multiple deaths, including the death of Sofia Duarte, 21, on New Years Day following a blaze in her flat on Old Kent Road, in south London.
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