Lithium-ion Battery Fires in the Workplace: What You Need to Know About E-bike and E-scooter Fire Safety

A Growing Risk That Workplaces Cannot Ignore

The rapid adoption of e-bikes and e-scooters — both for commuting and as last-mile delivery vehicles — has brought a significant and relatively new fire risk into workplaces across the UK. UK fire services reported a sharp increase in lithium-ion battery fires between 2023 and 2025. The London Fire Brigade attended over 200 e-bike fires in London alone during 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing categories of fire call-outs in the capital.

These are not minor incidents. Lithium-ion battery fires burn intensely, spread rapidly, and produce toxic smoke. Several fatalities and significant property losses have been attributed to e-bike battery fires in residential and commercial settings. Understanding why these fires behave differently — and what your fire risk assessment must now address — is an important part of being a responsible employer.

Why Lithium Battery Fires Are Different: Thermal Runaway

A conventional fire requires three elements: fuel, oxygen, and heat. Remove any one and the fire goes out. Lithium-ion battery fires operate by a different mechanism called thermal runaway, which makes them far harder to extinguish.

Thermal runaway occurs when a battery cell overheats to the point where it begins an exothermic (heat-generating) chemical reaction. This reaction generates its own heat and oxygen, which accelerates the reaction further, causing neighbouring cells to heat and fail in a cascade. Once thermal runaway is established, the fire is effectively self-sustaining: it generates its own fuel and oxidiser internally. External oxygen is not required to keep it burning.

Key hazards associated with thermal runaway include:

• Intense, rapid heat release: battery fires can escalate from ignition to fully involved in seconds
• Toxic gas release: burning lithium cells release hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas, which is highly toxic even in small concentrations, as well as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and other hazardous compounds
• Re-ignition: a battery that appears to have been extinguished can re-ignite hours later as residual thermal runaway continues in unaffected cells
• Explosive venting: cells can vent flammable gases before igniting, creating an explosion risk in confined spaces

Government and Regulatory Guidance

In January 2026, HSE and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) published updated guidance on the safe charging and storage of e-bikes and e-scooters in workplace settings. The guidance reflects the significant increase in incidents and is directly relevant to any employer where staff bring e-bikes to work, where delivery fleets include e-cargo bikes, or where the business operates any lithium battery-powered equipment.

Under the RRO 2005, the responsible person is already required to identify and assess all fire hazards on the premises. E-bike and e-scooter batteries now constitute a defined hazard category that must be explicitly considered in the fire risk assessment. Failure to address it is a compliance gap that an inspector could identify.

What Extinguishers Work on Lithium Battery Fires?

No extinguishing agent can stop thermal runaway once it is fully established inside a battery pack. The correct approach is to cool the battery and contain the fire, preventing spread to adjacent materials and buildings, rather than attempting to chemically extinguish the reaction itself.

AVD (Aqueous Vermiculite Dispersion) Extinguishers

AVD extinguishers are the most effective specialist option for lithium battery fires. The agent — a suspension of vermiculite particles in water — coats the battery cells and creates an insulating layer that absorbs heat and blocks oxygen. It significantly slows the progression of thermal runaway and suppresses flames effectively. AVD extinguishers are increasingly specified for premises with e-bike charging or storage.

CO2 Extinguishers

CO2 can suppress the visible flames from a lithium battery fire by displacing oxygen, but it has no cooling effect and cannot interrupt thermal runaway. Once the CO2 disperses, the fire is likely to re-establish. CO2 is not adequate as the sole response to a lithium battery fire, but may be part of a layered response alongside cooling measures.

Water

Large volumes of water can cool a burning battery and slow thermal runaway progression. This is why fire services use significant quantities of water on e-bike fires. In a workplace context, a standard water extinguisher provides limited cooling capacity relative to a large battery pack, but it is more useful than CO2 or powder. Water mist extinguishers offer better coverage per litre than conventional water units.

Lithium Battery Fire Containment Blankets

Specialist lithium-rated fire containment blankets can be used to wrap a burning or smouldering battery, suppressing flames and containing toxic gases while slowing heat spread. These differ from standard kitchen or general-purpose fire blankets — they are constructed from multiple layers of fireproof and heat-resistant material and are designed to contain rather than simply smother.

Where an e-bike is stored indoors — in a workshop, storage room, or reception area — a containment blanket nearby provides a first-response tool that can significantly reduce fire spread while evacuation takes place and the fire service is awaited. Containment blankets should comply with BS EN 1869 or equivalent; specialist lithium battery versions carry additional thermal containment ratings.

What Your Fire Risk Assessment Must Now Address

Any workplace where e-bikes, e-scooters, or other lithium battery devices are present must address the following in the fire risk assessment:

Storage Areas

• E-bikes and e-scooters should not be stored in stairwells, escape routes, or areas adjacent to combustible materials
• Where possible, storage should be in a dedicated area with fire-resistant boundaries
• Batteries in poor condition, visibly damaged, or swollen should not be stored on the premises

Charging Zones

• Charging should take place in a designated, ventilated area away from escape routes and combustible storage
• Charging should not take place unattended overnight wherever it can be avoided
• Only manufacturer-approved chargers should be used; mismatched or counterfeit chargers are a leading cause of battery failure
• Damaged batteries must not be charged — a swollen, cracked, or previously overheated battery should be removed from service immediately

Employee-Owned Devices

• Where staff bring personal e-bikes or e-scooters to work and charge them on-site, the employer’s fire risk assessment must address this
• A clear written policy on e-bike and e-scooter charging — where it is permitted, under what conditions, and what is prohibited — should be communicated to all staff
• Employers cannot simply ignore employee-owned devices: if they are charged on the premises, the associated fire risk is within scope of the RRO 2005

Practical Steps to Reduce the Risk

• Review and update your fire risk assessment to explicitly address lithium battery storage and charging
• Brief staff on the hazards of lithium battery fires and what to do if they identify a device that is overheating or venting
• Ensure appropriate firefighting equipment — AVD extinguisher or containment blanket — is available in or near charging and storage areas
• Establish a clear policy on overnight charging and personal devices
• Consider installing a smoke or heat detector specifically in charging areas if not already covered

Browse Cocus’s range of fire extinguishers — including AVD and water mist types suitable for lithium battery fire response — at our fire extinguishers collection, and see our full fire safety equipment range for containment blankets and supplementary fire safety products.