The objects which are inflicting the surge in UK blazes are actually important to trendy life.
A large blaze in Glasgow thought to have been brought on by a lithium battery (Picture: Callum Robertson / SWNS)
Fireplace brigades throughout the UK are coping with a lithium-ion battery hearth roughly each 5 hours, prompting warnings from hearth chiefs over a quickly rising hazard they are saying regulation has did not sustain with. New figures obtained by insurer QBE Insurance coverage by freedom of knowledge requests present hearth providers attended 1,760 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in 2025—round 4.8 incidents a day. That marks a 147% rise over three years.
The batteries, now ubiquitous in trendy life, energy cellphones, vapes, electrical toothbrushes, toys, e-bikes, e-scooters and electrical automobiles. Fireplace providers say the dangers related to defective, broken or poorly manufactured items are escalating quicker nonetheless. Electrical car fires rose by 133% over the identical interval, in step with a pointy enhance in EV possession, which has tripled throughout the UK in three years.
We use your sign-up to supply content material in methods you’ve got consented to and to enhance our understanding of you. This will embody adverts from us and third events based mostly on our understanding. You’ll be able to unsubscribe at any time. Learn our Privateness Coverage
DWP confirms automated £200 for state pensioners beneath 80
Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways reschedule flights as 1,700 delayed
E-bike incidents are rising as a selected concern. QBE’s evaluation discovered they accounted for almost a 3rd of all lithium-ion battery fires nationally in 2025.
There have been 520 e-bike-related fires final 12 months, up from 149 in 2022. The London Fireplace Brigade (LFB) dealt with 44% of these incidents, with 230 e-bike fires within the capital alone final 12 months. 5 deaths linked to e-bike and e-scooter fires have been recorded previously three years.
Deputy commissioner for prevention Spencer Sutcliff stated the brigade stays “extraordinarily involved” concerning the dangers.
He stated: “We imagine regulation can assist enhance product security and scale back the possibility of customers being uncovered on on-line marketplaces to defective or counterfeit merchandise similar to e-bike batteries, chargers and conversion kits.”
Fireplace chiefs say the hazard is not only the frequency of incidents, however the behaviour of lithium-ion fires themselves. When failing, they’ll endure a course of often known as thermal runaway—an uncontrollable chain response inflicting temperatures to spike, poisonous gases to vent beneath strain, and intense jet-like flames which are tough to extinguish. Adrian Simmonds, threat supervisor at QBE Insurance coverage, warned that the fires behave very in a different way to standard blazes.
Video seize of the second an e-bike exploded (Picture: London Fireplace Brigade / SWNS)
He stated: “Thermal runaway brought on by these kind of batteries burns in a different way, takes for much longer to deal with and might require as much as 10 instances extra water to comprise.
“Consciousness of protected charging, storage and disposal is crucial. Folks ought to use solely licensed e-bikes and batteries, cost them away from escape routes and keep away from charging objects in a single day.”
Practically half of all lithium-ion battery fires—46%—are actually occurring inside folks’s properties, in response to the info gathered from 46 of 52 UK hearth and rescue providers. Incidents involving improper disposal have additionally triggered fires in bin lorries and recycling centres, with the broader financial value now estimated at greater than £1bn a 12 months.
A latest blaze believed to have began in a vape store in Glasgow induced extreme harm to a historic constructing and led to a two-week closure of Central Station, Scotland’s busiest rail hub, highlighting the broader infrastructure threat.
The Nationwide Fireplace Chiefs Council stated the findings mirrored frontline expertise.
“We’re particularly involved about fires involving poorly manufactured, modified or transformed e-bikes, which proceed to account for a disproportionate variety of incidents,” a spokesperson stated. “Many of those fires happen in folks’s properties and folks have tragically died in consequence.”
The Fireplace Brigades Union warned that fireside providers additionally want higher funding to deal with rising hazards, notably poisonous gases launched throughout lithium-ion battery fires, which may pose long-term well being dangers to firefighters and the general public.
Fireplace leaders say the expertise is now embedded in on a regular basis life, however the security framework round it’s lagging behind—with penalties already being felt in properties, streets and important infrastructure throughout the UK.
Leave a Reply