Lithium Battery Fires in the UK are on the increase.

Lithium Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries power almost everything we own — phones, laptops, power tools, vapes, e-bikes and e-scooters. A typical UK household now contains 15–25 of these devices. Most of the time they’re safe. But when a cell is damaged, poorly made, overcharged or paired with the wrong charger, it can enter “thermal runaway” — a rapid, self-sustaining reaction that releases intense heat and toxic gas almost instantly. The resulting fire ignites faster, burns hotter, can reignite after appearing out, and needs far more water to control than a conventional fire.

What the government tracks

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) publishes an annual report on e-bike and e-scooter fires, based on voluntary notifications from fire services — so it’s a snapshot, not a full national count, and OPSS says so explicitly. Still, the 2024 figures are notable: 211 fires were reported, 170 involving e-bikes and 39 e-scooters. Nearly half of e-bike fires (45%) involved aftermarket-converted bikes rather than manufactured ones. 93% of fires were battery-related, 48% started indoors, and 39% happened while charging — rising to 49% for converted e-bikes. Five fires caused 8 fatalities; 42 more caused 86 non-fatal casualties, likely an undercount since disclosure is voluntary.

London Fire Brigade, the busiest UK service on this issue, recorded a record 200+ e-bike/e-scooter fires in 2025 (171 e-bike, 35 e-scooter) — about 17 a month. Its investigators consistently point to battery failure, non-standard conversion kits, counterfeit chargers, and uncertified products bought online.

Because OPSS reporting is voluntary, the fullest national picture comes from Freedom of Information data, most notably insurer QBE’s requests to all 49 UK fire services. Their latest analysis (42 services responding) found 1,760 lithium-ion battery fires in 2025 — one every five hours, a 147% rise in three years. E-bikes made up 520 of these, tripling since 2022; London accounted for 44% of all e-bike fires nationally. EV fires rose 133% (though EV numbers on the road roughly tripled too). Nearly half of all fires (46%) happened in homes, and incorrect disposal is estimated to cost over £1bn a year in bin lorry and recycling-plant fires.

Commercial premises, student accommodation, schools and hospitals

The national figures matter, but the regulatory response is increasingly focused on specific building types where risk is highest and evacuation hardest.

Commercial premises and workplaces: Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the “responsible person” for any non-domestic premises must identify and control fire hazards — and lithium-ion batteries are now treated as their own hazard category. In January 2026, the HSE and DSIT published updated workplace guidance on e-bike/e-scooter charging: no charging in stairwells or escape routes, no unattended overnight charging, manufacturer-approved chargers only, and immediate removal of damaged or swollen batteries. The government’s own Crown Premises’ Fire Safety Inspectorate has separate guidance for Cycle to Work e-bikes in Crown workplaces. OPSS’s 2024 data recorded 15 of 211 fires in commercial premises.

Student accommodation and campuses: Halls of residence combine shared buildings, communal escape routes, high device density and residents charging overnight while asleep — exactly the risk factors OPSS flags as most dangerous. Universities have a legal duty under the RRFSO to keep halls safe, and the accreditation codes their housing must comply with (Universities UK/GuildHE; ANUK/Unipol) build in fire safety standards as a condition of registration. Incidents keep occurring in practice — a March 2026 fire in Uxbridge student accommodation, caused by a failed lithium-ion power bank, is a recent London Fire Brigade example — and many universities have now introduced their own resident-facing lithium safety guidance, typically banning indoor e-bike/e-scooter charging, requiring manufacturer-approved chargers, and asking students to unplug devices before sleeping or leaving the room.

Schools: DfT/OPSS guidance on managing e-cycle and e-scooter fire risk names schools directly, alongside workplaces, given rising pupil and staff use of e-bikes for commuting. The core ask is the same as elsewhere: a designated, fire-resistant charging area kept away from escape routes rather than ad hoc charging in classrooms or offices, folded into the school’s existing fire risk assessment rather than treated as a one-off addition.

Hospitals: Evacuation is often slow or impossible for patients, making this a distinct risk. NHS England’s Estates Technical Bulletin NETB/2023/2 (2023, updated 2024), issued to all Trusts, describes “exponential growth” in battery-related fires and mandates a risk-based protocol — avoid, minimise, control — for charging and storing any battery-powered device on NHS estates, backed by staff training. Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust’s burns unit, the largest in the South of England, has publicly urged safer charging practice after treating patients for serious e-bike and e-scooter battery burns.

Conclusion

Official UK data confirms a genuine, fast-growing fire risk concentrated around e-bikes — especially converted ones — and strongly linked to charging, particularly overnight and indoors.