Latest news with #MarcDavies
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
E-bike batteries pose 'fastest growing' fire risk
Lithium batteries present the "fastest growing" risk of fires, a Welsh fire and rescue service has said. The batteries, and specifically lithium-ion batteries, are used to power a number of devices including e-bikes and scooters and their chargers, mobile phones, laptops and e-vapes. Campaigning charity Electrical Safety First said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing through homes" and want stricter rules to be introduced around their sale to reduce the risk. The UK government said it was updating product safety laws around the batteries to help keep people safe and taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe products reaching consumers. Why are modified e-bikes causing house fires? E-bike battery fire destroys family home 'An e-bike fire killed my sister in her home' The warning comes after seven people were taken to hospital earlier this month when a house fire in Cardiff was started by a lithium-ion battery-powered scooter. "The primary risk around these scooters is actually lithium-ion batteries and the thermal runaway that can happen from that," Marc Davies, home safety manager from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS), said. A thermal runaway is an accelerating increase in temperature caused by chemical reactions which can lead to fire, explosion and "unpredictable fire behaviour", according to the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council. According to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, there were 136 fires involving lithium-ion batteries in south Wales from April 2020 to March 2025, with 100 recorded in the last two years. Of those reported fires over the last five years: 30 people were injured with 24 of these occurring in the last two years 49 were accidental dwelling fires, with 34 of these occurring in the last two years. One of these incidents led to a fatality linked to a fire involving a fault in a battery charger. Of the 136 incidents, 39 involved an e-scooter or an e-bike with 25 of these incidents occurring in the last two years. These led to 13 people being injured, 10 of which occurred in the last two years. There were 16 accident dwelling fires in south Wales which involved an e-scooter or an e-bike with 10 of these occurring in the last two years. These incidents led to five people injured with three of these occurring in the last two years In mid and west Wales, there were 26 incidents involving lithium batteries from 1 April 2020 to 5 May 2025. Four of these incidents involved e-bikes while one involved an e-scooter. Out of the 26 incidents, three people were injured. In north Wales there were 62 incidents from April 2022 to the end of February 2025. During that time seven fires involved an e-bike and four involved an e-scooter, leading to nine injuries. A spokesperson from Electrical Safety First, a charity which aims to reduce deaths and injuries caused by electricity in UK homes, said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing through homes", putting lives at risk and causing "immense" damage to property. "These fires are especially dangerous due to the huge amount of energy that is released if a fully charged e-scooter or e-bike battery fails, triggering a process called thermal runaway which is almost impossible to stop once it has started," they said. The charity is now urging the UK government to use the new product regulation and metrology bill to introduce stricter rules around the sale of batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters to reduce the risk of a fire. A department for business and trade spokesperson said it took the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, including those linked to e-bikes and e-scooters, "very seriously". "That's why we launched our 'Buy Safe, Be Safe' campaign to raise awareness of this important issue," they said. "We are also updating our product safety laws to help keep the public safe, as well as taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe or non-compliant products from reaching consumers." April's e-scooter blaze in Cardiff is not the only recent fire caused by an lithium-ion battery. A year earlier in March 2024, SWFRS warned of the dangers that can be posed by lithium-ion batteries after a fire gutted a family home in Newbridge, Caerphilly county. The family who lived at the house managed to escape unharmed, along with their four dogs. Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Mr Davies of SWFRS said people should do their research and buy devices, batteries and chargers from reputable retailers. Otherwise there is a risk they can "overheat, catch fire and almost lead to a firework-like explosion", he said. He said other risk factors for e-scooters included wear and tear caused by kerbs, speed bumps and water ingress, having appropriate chargers and the rise of universal chargers. He warned against buying counterfeit goods as they do not meet safety standards. "You can't go wrong with ensuring something is British or UK standard, or European CE certification, and high street versus online have their own set of rules," he said. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is also urging people to dispose of lithium-ion batteries safely following several fires believed to have been caused by incorrectly discarded batteries. If damaged or crushed, they can release flammable electrolytes, leading to intense fires at waste sites. Waste fires release harmful gases, and the resulting hazardous smoke can pose serious risks to both humans and the environment, NRW said. Residues from burnt waste can also pollute surface and groundwater, leading to long-term land contamination. Nia Brunning, waste regulation and enforcement team leader at NRW, said such fires not only damage the environment "but also put local communities and emergency services at risk". E-scooter caused fire that put seven in hospital Exploding karaoke machine destroys home in fire E-bike battery warning after fire guts home
BBC News
16-05-2025
- BBC News
E-bike lithium batteries 'fastest growing' fire risk
Lithium batteries present the "fastest growing" risk of fires, a Welsh fire and rescue service has said. The batteries, and specifically lithium-ion batteries, are used to power a number of devices including e-bikes and scooters and their chargers, mobile phones, laptops and e-vapes. Campaigning charity Electrical Safety First said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing through homes" and want stricter rules to be introduced around their sale to reduce the UK government said it was updating product safety laws around the batteries to help keep people safe and taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe products reaching consumers. The warning comes after seven people were taken to hospital earlier this month when a house fire in Cardiff was started by a lithium-ion battery-powered scooter. "The primary risk around these scooters is actually lithium-ion batteries and the thermal runaway that can happen from that," Marc Davies, home safety manager from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS), said. A thermal runaway is an accelerating increase in temperature caused by chemical reactions which can lead to fire, explosion and "unpredictable fire behaviour", according to the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council. According to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, there were 136 fires involving lithium-ion batteries in south Wales from April 2020 to March 2025, with 100 recorded in the last two those reported fires over the last five years:30 people were injured with 24 of these occurring in the last two years49 were accidental dwelling fires, with 34 of these occurring in the last two years. One of these incidents led to a fatality linked to a fire involving a fault in a battery the 136 incidents, 39 involved an e-scooter or an e-bike with 25 of these incidents occurring in the last two years. These led to 13 people being injured, 10 of which occurred in the last two were 16 accident dwelling fires in south Wales which involved an e-scooter or an e-bike with 10 of these occurring in the last two years. These incidents led to five people injured with three of these occurring in the last two years In mid and west Wales, there were 26 incidents involving lithium batteries from 1 April 2020 to 5 May 2025. Four of these incidents involved e-bikes while one involved an e-scooter. Out of the 26 incidents, three people were injured. In north Wales there were 62 incidents from April 2022 to the end of February 2025. During that time seven fires involved an e-bike and four involved an e-scooter, leading to nine injuries. A spokesperson from Electrical Safety First, a charity which aims to reduce deaths and injuries caused by electricity in UK homes, said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing through homes", putting lives at risk and causing "immense" damage to property. "These fires are especially dangerous due to the huge amount of energy that is released if a fully charged e-scooter or e-bike battery fails, triggering a process called thermal runaway which is almost impossible to stop once it has started," they charity is now urging the UK government to use the new product regulation and metrology bill to introduce stricter rules around the sale of batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters to reduce the risk of a fire. A department for business and trade spokesperson said it took the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, including those linked to e-bikes and e-scooters, "very seriously". "That's why we launched our 'Buy Safe, Be Safe' campaign to raise awareness of this important issue," they said. "We are also updating our product safety laws to help keep the public safe, as well as taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe or non-compliant products from reaching consumers." April's e-scooter blaze in Cardiff is not the only recent fire caused by an lithium-ion battery. A year earlier in March 2024, SWFRS warned of the dangers that can be posed by lithium-ion batteries after a fire gutted a family home in Newbridge, Caerphilly county. The family who lived at the house managed to escape unharmed, along with their four to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Mr Davies of SWFRS said people should do their research and buy devices, batteries and chargers from reputable retailers. Otherwise there is a risk they can "overheat, catch fire and almost lead to a firework-like explosion", he said. He said other risk factors for e-scooters included wear and tear caused by kerbs, speed bumps and water ingress, having appropriate chargers and the rise of universal chargers. He warned against buying counterfeit goods as they do not meet safety standards. "You can't go wrong with ensuring something is British or UK standard, or European CE certification, and high street versus online have their own set of rules," he said. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is also urging people to dispose of lithium-ion batteries safely following several fires believed to have been caused by incorrectly discarded damaged or crushed, they can release flammable electrolytes, leading to intense fires at waste fires release harmful gases, and the resulting hazardous smoke can pose serious risks to both humans and the environment, NRW said. Residues from burnt waste can also pollute surface and groundwater, leading to long-term land Brunning, waste regulation and enforcement team leader at NRW, said such fires not only damage the environment "but also put local communities and emergency services at risk".
BBC News
02-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Welsh Water urges people not to waste water in hot weather
As Wales basks in the warm weather, people are being urged to "be careful" with their use of saw the hottest start to May on record on Thursday, with temperatures soaring to 27.6C (80F) in Water said its resources were in a "good position" but reservoir levels were "just below what is expected at this time of year", adding it was ramping up efforts to move water around to where demand was of water services Marc Davies said: "Use the water you need but don't waste it. It's things like when you're brushing your teeth, to turn the taps off." Mr Davies said he was asking everyone to work together after seeing the fourth driest March on added: "If people are using their paddling pools over the weekend in this nice weather, making sure they conserve that water and use it for the garden."Welsh Water's supply largely originates from reservoirs and rivers, which can make it vulnerable to dryer periods of weather. Mr Davies said the company was also putting measures in place to address the effect of the hot weather, including adjusting the levels of water supplied from some levels of Crai Reservoir in Powys have dropped, so the company is now taking more water from its Felindre reservoirs in the Swansea valleys instead. Welsh Water said it was also working to cut the amount of water that is lost from its systems through leaks. Head of water engineering Chris Rees said more than 15,000 smart sensors had been installed across the firm's 18,641-mile (30,000 km) network to help detect sensors are "listening for leaks at all times", he said, and give the company an immediate notification of a leak occurring on the network which can then be followed up by an can also report a leak if they believe they have one. The company said it had £400m of investment planned for pipe replacement and leak repairs over the next five years."Reducing leakage really does help us with our water resource position as the weather dries and we get less rainfall and storage across our system," said Mr Rees."While leakage is very important to us when its dry, we do tackle leakage all year. It's a very important part of our resilience plan for water resources going forward." How can you save water? Don't leave the tap running while washing hands or brushing teethHave a shower instead of a bathWait until the washing machine and dishwasher are full before putting them onDon't fill the paddling pool to the top and when you've finished, use the water on the plants in the gardenDon't use a sprinkler on the lawn to keep it green – the colour will soon come back once it rainsWelsh Water said its Get Water Fit calculator also provided additional tips to save on water and water bills.
