A man was critically injured after an electric bicycle explosion at a home in Northwest D.C. last Thursday.
The battery caught fire at a home in the 700 block of Irving Street near Georgia Avenue.
Now, D.C. Fire and EMS is out with a warning.
D.C. Fire spokesman Vito Maggiolo said the e-bike’s battery was likely overcharged or charged with the wrong charger.
He said these kinds of fires have happened before but this one is different.
“[This is the] first injury that our fire investigators can recollect that was directly caused by a fire that originated with an e-bike,” Maggiolo said.
The man was seriously burned, but is now out of the hospital.
“If you are going to charge them, if you can, avoid having them inside the house,” said Maggiolo.
Maggiolo added if that’s not possible, at least make sure to never have the bike near the front door of your home or any other escape route in the case they catch fire and block your route out.
Thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries shown here in an e-bike inside a home on Irving Street NW led to a serious injury and considerable damage. Please follow these safety tips when it comes to these batteries. #DCsBravest pic.twitter.com/EvME6KKHnS
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) September 1, 2023
Ann Rondan, a neighbor of the man injured, said she and her husband have always been suspicious of the e-bike batteries and decided to never buy an electric bike.
“We’re surprised and feel sorry because they don’t have a lot of money to replace everything they lost,” she said. “Electronics and stuff like that, I don’t want it inside my house because you never know.”
She said she felt badly for the man hurt.
There is no damage estimate yet on the house fire.
WTOP’s Ciara Wells contributed to this report.
