In a truly heroic incident, a man who happened to be driving by a house in Temora (a town in the New South Wales Riverina region) sprung into action, rescuing a family from potential disaster when the lithium-ion battery of an e-scooter spontaneously ignited. This unexpected combustion event occurred around 9am on Monday, quickly setting a storeroom in the home aflame.
Unhesitatingly, the passerby halted his vehicle and sprinted to the front door, alerting the resident of the dangerous unfolding situation. United against the enemy of fire, they waged combat on the encroaching flames with garden hoses until professional assistance could arrive.
Fire and Rescue NSW teams reached the location in short order and took over the firefighting efforts, effectively subduing the blaze while further extinguishing several spot fires. Emergency services, once the inferno was tamed, attended to three individuals on the scene for minor smoke inhalation, including the two men who initially battled the firestorm.
While clearing the storeroom, the firefighters identified the daunting source of the fire – a solitary battery. Firefighters deduced the cause was one of the two e-scooters kept inside the house. This alarming accident stands as a sobering reminder regarding the potential hazards of increasingly popular e-scooters in Australia.
Firefighters, along with other officials, have been consistently stressing the importance of proper charging practices and the use of reputable and certified equipment. They strongly advise against leaving batteries to charge unattended or overnight, an act that potentially escalates the chances of combustion.
This is not an isolated incident, as demonstrated by a recent episode in Sydney when a family found themselves entrapped on their balcony because an e-scooter had ignited near their entryway. Not too long prior to this situation, a separate residential structure in the city’s southwest area had to be evacuated due to a similar e-scooter fire.
According to a report, the count of fires involving scooter batteries reached 450 incidents in the past one and a half year time span. The escalation of these perilous incidents reiterates the urgent need for cognizance and adherence to safety norms associated with the use and maintenance of e-scooters.
