The damaged e-bikes in the Waterloo apartments. Picture: FRNSW
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) says e-bike and e-scooter owners need to be careful when recharging their mobility devices.
The warning follows a call-out by FRNSW crews to an e-bike fire in a small apartment complex early this morning at Waterloo, Sydney.
The service says the battery of one of several e-bikes, stored in the ground floor stairwell of the Raglan Street unit block, overheated while it was charged.
It went into ‘thermal runaway’ and burst into flames around 12.50am today (Wednesday).
According to the FRNSW, thermal runaway is a process in which a damaged battery cell heats then ignites which sets off a chain reaction of batteries exploding and flammable, toxic gas.
Six fire trucks and 22 firefighters from Alexandria, Redfern and City of Sydney stations rushed to the scene and stopped the flames and smoke from infiltrating the four units within the building.
It took an hour to extinguish the fire and identify the faulty e-bike battery as the cause.
No-one was injured in the incident.
WARNING
FRNSW also advised owners of micromobility devices such as e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards not to charge them while sleeping, not to overcharge the batteries and to avoid blocking emergency exit points.
They also listed other tips:
- Dispose of damaged lithium batteries properly;
- Don’t throw them out in the rubbish; they can start garbage truck or rubbish tip fires when compacted;
- Contact your local, approved recycling centre for disposal advice;
- Don’t leave devices charging in bedrooms or on beds, sofas or around highly flammable materials;
- Try to charge devices outside if possible;
- Always buy reputable Lithium-battery brands and never ‘mix and match’ components;
- Beware of cheap, substandard Lithium battery-powered devices;
- Avoid dropping, crushing or piercing battery cells;
- Store batteries and devices in a cool, dry area, away from combustible materials;
- Install active smoke alarms in your home/garage;
- Ensure you have a home evacuation plan in the event of fire.
For more information, visit the FRNSW website
