Electric bike and mobility scooter charging in flats

Lithium-ion batteries power most electric bikes and mobility scooters. When they fail, they do not smoulder or give off a small amount of smoke. They vent hot gas, catch fire instantly, and burn at temperatures that defeat standard extinguishers. A single battery can fill a corridor with toxic smoke in seconds.

Blocks of flats were designed before these batteries became common. The fire compartments, the ventilation, and the escape routes all assume a slower fire spread. A lithium battery fire breaks those assumptions. That is why fire risk assessments now look specifically at where residents store and charge these devices.

If you have noticed a neighbour plugging in a bike overnight near the stairwell, the worry you feel is justified. The specialist firm carrying out the assessment will record this as a hazard and recommend changes. Those changes protect everyone who uses the same hallway to get out.

A communal hallway exists so people can leave the building during a fire. Anything placed in it narrows the route, adds fuel, or both. An electric bike leaning against a wall combines all three problems: it blocks the way, its frame burns, and its battery can explode.

Mobility scooters present the same danger. Because they are heavy and difficult to move, residents often leave them just outside their front door. But a flat entrance door is part of the fire compartmentation that keeps smoke out of the shared space. Parking a scooter against it damages the seals and defeats the protection the door provides.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 place duties on the responsible person to manage communal areas. Leaving escape routes obstructed by batteries or vehicles breaches those duties. A compartmentation survey will identify doors and walls compromised by items stored against them.

Charging needs a space separated from the escape route, ideally with its own detection and suppression. Some blocks have external stores or dedicated rooms built for this purpose. If yours does not, the responsible person must find another solution rather than allowing charging in hallways.

Inside a flat, charging is safer than in a corridor because the flat is its own fire compartment. But the resident still needs to follow basic rules: use only the manufacturer charger, never leave a battery charging unattended overnight, and keep it away from soft furnishings. A damaged battery should never be plugged in.

When a specialist firm writes a fire strategy report for a building, it sets out exactly which areas may hold charging equipment and which must remain empty. That document gives the managing agent or freeholder a clear plan to enforce.

If you are the nominated person for fire safety in your block, start by checking the current fire risk assessment. It should mention portable electrical equipment and lithium batteries. If it does not, or if the review date has passed, arrange an updated one.

Walk the communal areas yourself. Look for bikes, scooters, or trailing cables. Note which doors show scuff marks from items pushed against them. Record everything in the fire safety log book so the assessor sees the pattern when they visit.

Residents need to know why the rules exist. A short notice pinned to the board is rarely enough. Fire safety awareness training for staff or wardens helps them explain the risk without sounding unreasonable. People comply faster when they understand that a battery fire in the stairwell traps everyone above it.