E-bikes and e-scooters have quietly become one of the most significant fire risks in the modern home. They are convenient, cheap to run and increasingly everywhere — but the lithium-ion packs that power them store a large amount of energy in a small space, and when one fails it fails fast.

The pattern is the same wherever the data is collected. In New York City, lithium-ion batteries caused 268 fires and 18 deaths in 2023 before a major enforcement and education campaign drove the death toll down (FDNY, 2025). In the United Kingdom, fire services notified regulators that batteries or generators were the ignition source in 93% of reported e-bike and e-scooter fires in 2024 (OPSS, 2025). And in Australia, the consumer regulator recorded a 92% rise in reported lithium-ion battery incidents in 2022 compared with 2020 (ACCC, 2023).

What actually starts the fire

A lithium-ion cell that is damaged, overcharged, poorly made or paired with the wrong charger can enter thermal runaway — a self-sustaining reaction where the cell generates its own heat and oxygen, drives its neighbours into failure and can reignite hours after the visible flame is out. Most micromobility fires trace back to a handful of causes:

• Aftermarket and conversion batteries that were never tested as a matched system with the bike and charger.
• Mismatched or counterfeit chargers bought online to replace a lost original.
• Physical damage — a dropped pack, a kerb strike, or a bike left out in the weather.
• Charging unattended, especially overnight, so there is no one awake to react to the first warning signs.

One finding cuts against intuition: the FDNY reported that 59% of its 2023 battery fires happened while the battery was not charging (NYC DCWP, 2024). A damaged cell can let go while the bike simply sits in a hallway. That is why where you keep the bike matters as much as how you charge it.

Charge-safe habits that work

• Only buy bikes, batteries and chargers from reputable sellers, and use the charger that came with the bike. In New York, writing the UL 2849 and UL 2271 test standards into law preceded a sharp fall in deaths (UL SE, 2025).
• Never charge on or near your exit — not by the front door, not in the only stairwell. London’s #ChargeSafe guidance is blunt about this (LFB, 2023).
• Don’t charge while you’re asleep or out of the house, and unplug once the battery is full.
• Stop using a battery that is swollen, hissing, hot, or giving off an odd smell — those are the warning signs before ignition.

Micromobility isn’t the problem — unmanaged charging is. Set up one safe charging spot, buy quality, watch for warning signs, and keep the right equipment within reach. Browse everything built for two-wheel EVs in our e-bike & e-scooter collection.