Issued on: Wednesday 17 January 2024
On Monday 15 January 2024, at 07:09, we received a call regarding a fire at a two-story residential building with the fire on the first floor flat on Canal Street, Wigston. Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) partners also responded.
Four Appliances were in attendance from Wigston Station, Southern Station, Central Station, Shepshed Station, and Western Station, in addition to the Ariel Ladder Platform. We had four Firefighters using Breathing Apparatus (BA) and two Hose Reels. The incident has now been closed, and all persons are safe and accounted for.
Following a fire investigation using a Thermal Imaging Camera, we can now confirm the cause of the fire was accidental due to an e-scooter lithium-ion battery igniting after charging.
Lithium-ion batteries, commonly found in devices such as e-bikes, e-scooters, electric vehicles and mobile phones, are an evergrowing cause of fires. These fires start and spread within a matter of moments. We want to encourage people to follow the steps to charge safely, keep an eye out for warning signs, and not attempt to carry out an e-bike conversion by themselves. It is also important to note that smoke alarms save lives and alert people to a fire so they can escape the building before the fire spreads. Ensure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home.
For more information on electrical safety, please read our website page (Electrics (leics-fire.gov.uk)) or watch our Lithium-ion battery video series via our social media channels.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Interviews can be arranged through prior arrangement with Corporate Communications on the details below.
About the Service
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service provides emergency response, prevention and protection services from 20 stations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Its headquarters is based in Birstall, Leicester.
During 2021/22, we attended a total of 8,259 emergency incidents, including 1,968 fires and 707 road traffic collisions. A total of 12,938 Home Safety Checks were completed and we fitted 3,546 smoke alarms. 233 schools were visited as part of the Service’s schools programme, delivering fire and road safety education to 6,724 pupils.
The Service’s prevention, education, enforcement and inspection programmes have resulted in significant reductions in the number of incidents attended.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Direct: 0116 210 5266
Corporate.communications@leics-fire.gov.uk
Download a PDF version here.
