New data reveals extent of EV fires with fire stations receiving more than 700 callouts in last five years

A new study from health and safety training provider CE Safety has looked into the increasing issue of lithium battery fires.

A freedom of information request was submitted to all 50 fire and rescue services for the relevant data but there were 11 services who did not obtain the data. Of the 39 services with data, every one of them had experienced a fire caused by an electric vehicle battery. CE Safety’s study also contains a quote from London Fire Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Charlie Pugsley.

The number of electric vehicle fires per UK region since 2017

REGION	NO. ELECTRIC VEHICLE FIRES IN PAST 5 YEARS
London	507
Merseyside	43
Greater Manchester	32
Surrey	21
Derbyshire	14
Hereford & Worcester	13
Royal Berkshire	11
Lancashire	9
West Midlands	9
Kent	8
West Sussex	8
Suffolk	7
Buckinghamshire	6
North Yorkshire	5
South Yorkshire	5
Bedfordshire	5
Norfolk	5
Staffordshire	5
Devon & Somerset	5
North Wales	4
East Sussex	4
Cleveland	3
Humberside	3
Northumberland	2
Northern Ireland	2
Warwickshire	2
Dorset & Wiltshire	1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	1

 

The city of London experiences more lithium battery fires than anywhere else in the UK with 507 in the past 5 years. Merseyside have experienced 43 fires in the past 5 years and Manchester 32, completing the top 3. 

Which vehicles are the worst culprits?

Overall, across Britain electric scooters catch on fire more than electric cars do. However, London’s figures change this ratio dramatically to electric cars being the primary culprit of fires, followed by bikes, vans, buses and motorbikes. There are also some interesting culprits that can be found in the data such as mobility scooters, golf buggies, forklift trucks and hoverboards or Segways. Furthermore, 19 buses have had to be extinguished in London, but there are very few in other regions of the UK.

Just how dangerous can these fires be? 

Fire and rescue services agreed that most vehicles were almost always completely destroyed by fire. In London, serious damage occurred to 93 vehicles and 78 injuries were recorded. In Merseyside, seven injuries were recorded within the overall findings, and in Northern Ireland one fire caused by a scooter spread across two floors of a home, causing its four occupants to be taken by ambulance to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. 

What should you do if your EV catches fire? 

CE Safety spoke to London Fire Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Charlie Pugsley who commented: ‘If an electric or hybrid vehicle catches fire or starts to produce plumes of white smoke, our advice is to safely stop the vehicle and get out immediately. The white smoke produced by these fires is highly toxic and must never be mistaken for steam. Make sure you – and anyone else – move a safe distance away from the vehicle, do not attempt to retrieve items from inside or tackle the fire yourself and call the fire brigade.’

To read the full study, go to https://cesafety.co.uk/news/data-reveals-extent-of-electric-vehicle-fires-around-the-uk/