Electric scooters in Bristol have been called a "fire risk" by the head of
Avon Fire Authority.

More than 200 of the vehicles were damaged in a fire at the Voi warehouse
sparked by an electrical fault.

Bristol City Council claimed in a meeting there was growing evidence
electric scooters posed a "hazard".

Voi said safety was its top priority and it had strict measures in place to
ensure all batteries were handled and stored in a safe manner.

Avon Fire Authority chairwoman and Bristol City Councillor Brenda Massey
told the meeting on 11 January the fire service had experienced
"considerable difficulty" extinguishing e-scooter fires because their
batteries were sealed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It appears that the only way to put out a fire of this nature is to
completely submerge the scooter in water," she said.

"The result is that the scooter is then contaminated, and it is difficult
to remove it safely.”

'House gutted'

Referring to the warehouse fire on New Year's Day in Brislington, she said:
"Although Avon Fire & Rescue Service put out the fire, they had real
difficulty getting a representative of the company to attend on site, as
they were extremely reluctant to attend the incident.

"This follows an earlier fire at a house where a private scooter was being
stored and resulted in the house being virtually gutted by the severity of
the fire."

Cllr Massey added: "Given there is now increasing evidence, both in Bristol
and other areas that they are a fire risk, appropriate arrangements for
safety and disposal are essential.

"As it appears that they will be an ongoing feature in the city, sanctioned
by the council, can we be reassured that adequate safety measures are in
place to deal with these hazards?"

Voi, the company running the regional trial with the West of England
Combined Authority (Weca), said it worked closely with fully licensed
specialist partners to recycle and dispose of damaged vehicles and
batteries safely.

In response to councillor Massey's concerns, Voi said that at no point was
it reluctant to attend the warehouse incident and that a representative was
on site just after the fire began, before another senior representative
arrived shortly afterwards followed by the Voi warehouse manager and his
wider team.
In a written reply, Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said: "It is important to
highlight this is a trial and all safety concerns are continually evaluated
by Weca and Voi to improve safety."

A review by Transport for London (TfL) found defective lithium batteries
could set light to the vehicles and they are now banned on public transport
in the capital.

<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-60074929>

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