Record e-bike and e-scooter fire prompt LFB call for regulation

Fahad Redha

February 4, 2026
3 min read

Record e-bike and e-scooter fire prompt LFB call for regulation

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) says that the capital has seen “record numbers” of fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in 2025. Over 200 fires were attended by firefighters throughout London, it said.

These “ranged in their severity” with the most serious resulting in deaths, injury, and destructive damages to homes. Two people lost their lives last year in London, bringing the total number of fatalities in London from these types of fires to five since 2023.

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These figures “demonstrate that urgent action is still needed to help prevent these fires and further tragedies,” says the LFB. Firefighters attended a record 206 e-bike and e-scooter fires in 2025, an average of 17 a month. 83% of these involved e-bikes (171 fires), with the highest being in Lewisham and Southwark with 16 each.

The Brigade’s investigation reveals that lithium-ion battery failures, conversion kits, and charges are often the causes of these fires. Items bought online which fail to meet British safety standards, whether new or used “particularly prone to going up in flames,” it said.

To tackle this “growing problem,” the government introduced Product Regulation & Metrology (PRAM) Act, which gained Royal Assent in the summer of 2025. In December 2025, London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner, Spencer Sutcliff, wrote to the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection, Kate Dearden MP, urging the government to bring forward its consultation for the secondary legislation of the Act as soon as possible.

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