A man "cheated death" when his e-scooter exploded while on charge in his kitchen at his home in London.
Dell Williams, 37, left his e-scooter on charge in his two-storey terraced house in Harlesden when it burst into flames.
Miraculously, no one was close to the scooter when the explosion occurred and no one was seriously harmed as the dramatic CCTV footage was released by London Fire Brigade.
Mr Williams spent eight hours in hospital due to smoke inhalation after attempting to tackle the blaze with a fire blanket but was forced to exit the building.
Luckily for Mr Williams, who is a security guard, he had decided to charge the scooter in the kitchen rather than his bedroom so his dog did not touch it.
He said: "I just want to thank the Lord we managed to get out of there in one piece! I am so grateful to be alive.
"I spent eight hours in hospital due to inhaling smoke from the fire and when I went back to the house it was such an eye opener. I was shocked, I am shocked now.
"I am so grateful no one else was hurt. I cheated death."
He had bought the e-scooter only a fortnight prior to the shocking incident from online market place Gumtree.
The footage from two CCTV cameras, one in the kitchen and the other in the hallway, showed just how quickly the vehicle caught alight.
LFB’s Deputy Commissioner Dom Ellis has warned e-scooter users about the risks as the incidences continue to rise.
He said: "As the video shows, once a battery starts to go into thermal runaway a fire develops very quickly and can block escape routes.
"Thermal runaway can lead to the destruction of the battery and a ferocious fire.
"We know prior to ignition thermal runaway can lead to the ejection of a range of gases. The white and grey coloured smoke is not harmless, and the speed at which these incidents develop shouldn’t be ignored."
LFB data shows there have been 48 e-bike fires and 12 e-scooter fires in the capital in 2023.
E-bikes and e-scooters are at their most risky when their lithium batteries are charging, as this is the time these batteries are most likely to fail.
Lithium batteries store a significant amount of energy in a very small space and are much more powerful compared to other types of batteries.
If that energy is released in an uncontrolled way a fire or explosion can occur, the LFB warned.
The incident comes as the London Fire Brigade continues its #ChargeSafe campaign, which aims to highlight the fire risks associated with lithium batteries which are commonly used with e-bikes and e-scooters.
It is also vital to always buy and use the correct charger of the e-bike or e-scooter and buy an official one from a reputable seller.
Chief executive of Electrical Safety First, Lesley Rudd, commented: "Our own investigations have found dangerous chargers for e-bikes freely available on online marketplaces leaving shoppers at serious risk of a fire.
"The Government must better protect the public by regulating online marketplaces to force them to take reasonable steps to ensure that goods sold on their platform are safe."
