Woman and child rescued from flat fire in Forest Hill

By Claudia Lee

Firefighters have issued an e-bike safety warning after a flat fire in Forest Hill.

Four adults and three children escaped the blaze in Stanstead Road before help arrived.

One woman and a child had to be rescued by the service and were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The brigade was called at around 1.30pm and the fire was under control in just over an hour.

Part of the three-roomed first floor flat in the three-storey building was damaged by the fire.

The incident is believed to have been caused by a fault in an e-bike lithium-ion battery.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “It’s incredibly concerning we are continuing to see a rise in incidents involving e-bikes and e-scooters.

“When these batteries and chargers fail, they do so with ferocity and because the fires develop so rapidly the situation can quickly become incredibly serious.”

The fire brigade warned that Lithium-ion batteries are susceptible to failure if the wrong chargers are used and there is a significant risk posed by scooters that have been converted.

Predominantly, fires dealt with by the London Fire Brigade have been caused by batteries that have been purchased from online marketplaces which may not meet safety standards.

They advise owners of e-vehicles to store and charge the batteries in a safe location where there is smoke detection present.

Pictured top: The destroyed flat in Forest Hill (Picture: LFB)