Electric bike fires are really bad news because the cause is a reaction called “Thermal Runaway.” This technical term means that one messed up cell in the lithium-ion battery starts a fire and then spreads to other cells. Since there are lots of cells in these batteries, the fire is made up of many smaller ‘fires’, which causes the overall blaze to be highly unpredictable.
In 2023 the London Fire Brigade had to deal with e-bike fires once every two days, which equates to around 180 fires in total during the year. They attended over 16,000 fires in the capital during the year, meaning that e-bike fires accounted for just over 1% of the total.
If you’re worried about dealing with an e-bike fire, your best bet is to snag a safety-certified electric bike that meets your country’s standards. And even if your mate down the road has, don’t even think about messing with the battery, charger, or system of an electric bike.