Manslaughter arrest over Blackpool e-scooter battery fire death

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AE-NMidlands
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Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:10 pm

Manslaughter arrest over Blackpool e-scooter battery fire death

#1

Post by AE-NMidlands »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... e-62264601
(but not fully explained)
A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over a fatal house fire which police believe was caused by an e-scooter battery.
Rebecca Downes, 44, died in the blaze on the top floor of a house on Hill Street in Blackpool, on 6 July.
Lancashire Police said four others were injured, including a man in his 50s, who remains in a serious condition.
A man was held on suspicion of manslaughter on Thursday and remained in police custody.
...
He added that a joint investigation between the force and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) was under way and investigators now believed "the most likely cause [of the fire] was a battery on an e-scooter".
LFRS area manager Mark Hutton said fires involving lithium-ion batteries were "becoming more common and tend to start and grow very quickly".
"E-bikes and e-scooters should only be purchased from reputable retailers and should always be used in accordance with manufacturer's instructions," he said.
He added that people should only ever charge batteries while awake "using the charger supplied" and do so in a place that is "well away" from escape routes.
Presumably down to a cheapo charger?
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Mr Gus
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Re: Manslaughter arrest over Blackpool e-scooter battery fire death

#2

Post by Mr Gus »

More than likely AE.
My large-ish escooter battery pack from a reputable UK brand & one of the few reasonably water resistant IP65 467 watt hour ish battery charger is pulling a mere 2amps in use, the charger is disconcerting light (& gets too warm in my opinion)

I tend to charge it during the day when about as daughter never bothers plugging it in / telling me when the battery is low.

I was expecting a more weighty unit, but having checked the spares list for fun on replaceable it was only £8.99 or thereabouts,
I'll look for details on this fire.

E-scooters tend to be parked in hallways, which clearly need a rethink around electrical item fire safety & escape routes, & maybe a li-ion charger fire blanket or similar.


To date (being careful & route selective) we have done around 30 "local" miles, mainly bread milk, lottery ticket, lamb / veggie samosa runs ..really useful in the year we've had, saves shade hopping on hot tarmac streets.

If we have another lockdown I can see us doing a few fast small too up shop (backpack) deliveries to the old folk round here.
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