Fire victim from bike and scooter battery explosion: Safe charging tips

Adina Zehavi, a mother of nine from Kohav Ya'aqov in Binyamin region, is the latest victim of a fire caused by an electric bike battery explosion during charging. Zehavi managed to evacuate with her husband and children from their burning home, but succumbed to smoke inhalation shortly afterward.

The growing popularity of electric bikes and scooters as affordable, traffic-beating transportation solutions has led to a steady increase in fire incidents caused by lithium battery explosions during charging. Currently, about 250 such fires occur annually, up from fewer than 180 five years ago, with an average of five fatalities per year and numerous injuries of varying severity, along with homes burned to their contents. Just last May, 11-year-old Lee-Yam Nahum from Ashdod perished in another fire likely caused by charging electric bikes.

Boaz Rakia, Deputy Commander of the Dan District Fire Department, notes that "while the epicenter is in Dan District, we encounter fires not only there but nationwide, as electric devices gain increasing popularity. Despite ongoing improvements, lithium batteries in these devices remain sensitive to explosions during charging, especially those used in bikes, often disassembled from the device and charged separately, exposed to knocks and falls."

The Fire Department lists several precautions to prevent fires in homes with such electric devices:

Purchase only batteries with an Israeli or American standard mark: The battery should bear an Israeli standard mark or an international standard, IEC 62133-2. Battery prices vary widely, from ₪700 to ₪4,000, with voltages ranging from 24V to 60V. Cheaper batteries are disappearing from the market. Prices also vary according to the amperage they produce. Purchase batteries from a reputable and organized source; a too-cheap battery may end up being very expensive in the long run.

Do not charge immediately after riding: A hot battery is more sensitive to explosions. Wait half an hour before starting charging. Therefore, it is also important not to leave batteries exposed to the sun in the car during summer.

Do not leave the battery charging overnight: Even an empty battery does not need 8 hours of charging. Charge the battery when you can supervise it, and disconnect it immediately from the power when charging is complete, indicated by the green light.

Charge the battery on a balcony or outdoors: It is important that in case of an explosion, the battery is in a side location that does not block the escape route of household members. Do not charge in the living room near the entrance door, and if there is no balcony or yard, then in a side room.

If the battery is exploding, evacuate immediately and do not attempt to extinguish it: In a normal fire, flames only appear after 5-7 minutes, allowing time to evacuate household members and attempt to extinguish. A lithium battery explodes quickly, with flames appearing within seconds. Extinguishing a lithium battery fire requires special materials and skills available only to firefighting forces.

If you escape, close the door: Did you identify an explosion? Close the room door where the burning battery is located: to prevent the fire from spreading to the rest of the house, close the house door upon your exit, so that it does not spread to the stairwell, and immediately dial 102 to call firefighters.

Do not upgrade bikes and scooters: Many fires are caused by devices that have been tampered with in order to improve their speed and battery performance. The law limits them to 25 km/h, which is not much, but the improvement itself is illegal and increases the risk of fire.

If the battery falls, take it for inspection: Electric bike batteries are usually detachable from the device for easy carrying to the charger. Therefore, they are also more prone to falls and knocks, starting a thermal runaway process that exposes them to explosions. If the battery suffers a blow, take it for inspection at a laboratory.